Chimera
by detrametal
Summary: Doom sight, Doom bright, I've killed again this night, I kill the Day, I kill the Night, yet I dream of Demon white. A monster now stalks the streets of Gotham and the Bat calls the Titans to help him, yet with the body count rising secrets are being uncovered and trust is being broken like a slave.
1. Hunt

Okay, this is my first Teen Titans fic, the first chapter of three.

Oh, I should probably do the disclaimer. I don't own Teen Titans. There it is done.

* * *

Beast Boy stood up as blood ran down his skin amidst the rain, crimson was washed away as the water fell. He looked at the others, standing straight and tall, unharmed and untouched. He looked at himself in the reflection of some store front, tattered, torn, bleeding, bruised and spoiled. Robin screamed at him "Why weren't you where I told you to be! Fix it or get off the team!"

He lowered his head and said nothing. It was useless. He was useless, Cyborg patted the shape shifter on the back "it's okay, man, we know what happened wasn't your fault"

Beast Boy looked at Starfire, she refused to meet his gaze, and Raven stared at him with her blank face while dusting off the black jeans she had added to her uniform. The green man gave a dry chuckle "I guess it two against three…see ya' later Cy" he dropped his titan gear and walked into the falling rain without looking back.

Cyborg rushed Robin and grabbed the boy by his shirt and lifted him to eye level "What the HELL are you doing!? Do you know what you just did?!"

* * *

Three months and nothing on Beast Boy. It was like he disappeared. Robin scoffed at the news "He's incapable of staying under the radar, he's out there somewhere"

He turned on the TV to see a horrifying image. Hanging from a tree by a rope was a body, the twisted strands wrapped around a foot as the man's open throat faced the ground. The reporter shuddered and went on "A-as you can see, this is truly disturbing, James Luke was found this morning by police hanging from this tree with his throat torn out, the medical examiner concludes it must have been done by a large beast, Luke was the main suspect in the bank robbery a week ago here in Gotham, strangely his wallet was missing." a police man rushed her off the premises as fast as he could. The camera fell in the hustle and landed on the grass. Under the body was a word written in blood, as if the crimson liquid had spelled out the word as it had drained out of the man.

_Chimera_

* * *

A week later the same reporter came on again, this time with two armed and scared officers with her "This is the fifteenth body attributed to the Chimera, eye witnesses say that a large shadow attacked the latest victim and dragged him into the park where they found his body, blood seeping on the ground once again hanging upside down with his throat torn out. The city of Gotham is in a state of fear as these killings continue. The last three days as the sun has started falling every person has been in their home, many businesses are closing early to let their workers go home before the sun has fallen. Batman we need your help"

Cy looked at Robin "that's creepy, I don't think that Bruce's got this one covered"

Raven went to her room and started meditating trying to calm the fear in her, whatever had done that had ripped out his throat with teeth but was smart enough to understand what fed fear. In her mind Rage grinned **"I like this Chimera, he has style…in only a week he's got an entire city petrified…the city that Batman, the original hero himself protects…I really want to meet him"** Rage continued to laugh as Raven pushed the emotion to the back of her mind.

Robin knocked "Bruce wants us to help him catch the Chimera…we'll meet downstairs in an hour"

Raven answered back through the door "alright, I'll be there"

* * *

Two days later when they arrived they noticed something, during the Day Gotham looked normal, but a slight tension filled the air. They all sat in Bruce's living room as he filled them in on the details "honestly, we have no leads, each scene is clean of all prints, clothes. Not even defensive wounds, it's like the dead men didn't even fight. All we know is each man was attacked by a large predatory creature, judging from the teeth marks on the throats…or what's left of them. But either it's smart or it's being lead to attack these individual by a person…I really hope it's the latter because if it's that smart than we are in for a hell of a time."

Robin looked at his mentor "is that really all you have on this thing?"

Bruce looked at him "yes, now I want Cyborg and Robin to patrol sectors 1 and 3. Starfire and I will take 2 and 5, Raven take sector 4. Be careful"

Raven nodded, she was the only going alone because she was the most able to protect herself and she was assigned the only sector where a body had not been found. She felt a small twinge of fear as she wrapped her cloak around her.

* * *

Raven floated above the city watching over her sector like a hawk, a flash of a shadow and she dove out of the sky and slammed into the person who let out a "oomph" at the hit.

Raven stared incredulously "Beast Boy? What are you doing here!? It's dangerous!"

The former Titan nodded "I know it's dangerous, that's why I'm out here, to try and help the people of this city…I didn't think Batman would call in back up"

Raven helped him up "so you live in Gotham now?"

The former clown had a hint of anger in his normally bright tone as he answered "Yeah, what about it? Can you blame me for not wanting to stay in Jump City after getting kicked off the Team?" he sighed "let's go to my house, Chimera won't attack tonight"

Raven stared at him "how do you know?"

Beast Boy pointed up and rain started to fall it started as a few drops but quickly escalated into a downpour "The only night the Chimera didn't attack was the only night it rained…now come on I don't want to get soaked"

She followed him to his home, an apartment in a decent neighborhood of Gotham. He opened the door and she looked around, they had entered the kitchen/living room, the white tiles complimented the dark carpet "Hold on Rae, I'll grab some towels" as he walked off Raven stared. He didn't look the same, he had gone through a long and painful growth spurt leaving him about four inches taller than her. His hair was shaggy and long enough to touch the tops of his eyes, and he was wearing black combat boots and loose black jeans, and a black leather jacket. As he came back he tossed her a fluffy white towel and took off his jacket "Rae, did you want to change out of those clothes?" he nodded to her soaked uniform.

"Yeah, I would." she pulled away the fabric and grimaced at the feeling of it against her.

He walked off for a minute and Raven took a closer look at the apartment. It didn't hold anything of sentimental value, not even a picture on the wall. All that was there was a sofa, a TV, a fridge and a stove, along with the cabinets. BB stepped back around the corner "I got some clothes laid out for you and a hot bath going…figured you'd want to warm up first."

She nodded and walked into his room and into the bathroom. Like the kitchen it didn't have anything to make it home, there was a toothbrush and tooth paste sitting on the counter and a bar of soap with shampoo sitting on the rim of the bath tub and a fluffy white towel on a wooden rack on the wall. She stepped into the warm water and sighed. Somehow it was the _perfect_ temperature. She sent Robin and Bruce a text on her Titan communicator _Found BB, says Chimera won't attack tonight-rain. Later_.

BB flicked on the TV and watched as the reporters freaked out about Chimera. He didn't blink but a feral growl rumbled in the back of his throat 'idiots, if evidence was laying about that _you_ could find the Chimera would have gotten caught already' he thought as he leaned back. He heard Raven sigh and the water lap around her skin. For a moment he wondered what would have happened if he had been in there with her, would she have pushed him out or blushed and stuttered? He shook his head, no need to pursue this line of thought. Not with the Chimera on the loose.

Raven stepped out of the shower and looked at the clothes Beast Boy had provided, a set of long black shorts and a plain black tee. She slipped them on and walked out to see him cooking dinner. She was apprehensive "Beast Boy, are you cooking tofu?"

He shook his head as he tossed the wok "No, stir fry, vegetarian yes, tofu no. and don't Call me Beast Boy. He was a Titan, now I'm just Gar."

He handed her a bowl filled of the thin noodles and vegetables and she quickly ate to sate her hunger. She sat on the couch after he took her bowl and watched as he washed them and set them on a draining rack "Beast-Gar…this place doesn't have a personal touch to it" her monotone voice lilted.

He nodded, she noticed he hadn't smiled since she had seen him "I'm not here often, I usually just come back to eat and go to bed. The past week I've been hunting the Chimera."

Raven folded her legs under her as Gar sat at the other end of the sofa "what do you do?"

He flicked a card into the air and it landed on her leg "Gar Logan, Tattoo artist" she looked up at him after reading aloud "that's…not what I expected"

His eyes were glued on the TV as he flipped through the channels "What did you expect?"

She watched as all the news channels all recapped the Twenty murders that had taken place "I don't know, just not that." he stopped on a rerun of "Monkeys and Men 4: return of the ape" they watched in silence for a while until Raven yawned and looked at him "Does Bruce know you're here?"

He shook his head "and if I have a say in it he won't…" a few minutes later Raven had fallen asleep and leaned against him. He laid her in his bed before kissing her forehead and walking out the door to continue hunting.

* * *

Raven woke up to see Gar in the bathroom, his skin pale and drawn and he tried to staunch the flow of blood from a massive gash in his arm. He chuckled dryly "s-sorry D-didn't mean to wake you up" and his legs gave out and he fell.

Raven rushed over and tied the wound as quickly as she could "What happened?" her eyes were wide with worry, the only change from her usually demeanor, her voice and tone hadn't changed.

He quietly panted out what had happened: after she had gone back to sleep the rain started to die off so he went back out. He found a body and saw the Chimera leaving the scene, as he chased it the beast broke a wall, some of the bricks landed on him and he got the gash from the rebar inside the wall. After dragging himself out of the rubble he had lost the trail.

Gar staggered to the couch and flopped down and Raven sat next to him trying to gauge if he would fall again. He flicked on the new to a clearly distressed and scared news woman "L-ladies and gentlemen, last night the Chimera claimed four victims. Jack Rodgers, Sam Jones, John Smith and Brandon Doe were all found dead this morning." after a few more details and a plea for anyone with information to call in Gar turned off the TV "Guess it's worse than I thought…Raven, you might want to go meet up with the others"

Raven nodded and changed back into her uniform, she opened the door "see you later Gar"

He shot up and grabbed her arm, startling her "Don't go out tonight…I have a bad feeling, after seeing that thing…"he shuddered "I don't think and army could take that thing down and I don't want you getting hurt…"

She nodded and left.

* * *

She explained everything that had happened the night before to the others who had stopped searching when the rain became dangerous.

Bruce looked at photos of where Gar had told them he had ran into the beast, a wall was crumbled and a number of them had long deep gouges "Did he give a description of the Chimera?"

Raven shook her head "He only said to not go out to night and that we couldn't take Chimera down…there were reports of gun shots yet no blood was found and the slugs were smashed flat…"

Robin finished the thought "so that thing must be bullet proof…" he turned to the Batman "Bruce I don't see how we can take this thing down, if it was small caliber bullets I think we could but those were armor piercing rounds for an assault rifle…"

Bruce tapped his chin and nodded "alright, tonight we all go together…Gar won't come with us, I don't even like him being in the city"

Cy stood up for his friend, with an angry huff he stuck his chin out "and why not? Just cause he's not on the team don't mean he's weak. Why don't you want him here, is Gotham too good for him or what!?"

Bruce held up his hands in surrender "I don't mean to offend you"

Cy growled and Starfire nodded "I agree with Friend Cyborg, that was not appropriate. Friend Beast Boy is strong and trying to help. He does not want to see us hurt."

Robin scowled "if he's so strong why did he leave the team"

Cy hissed "If he's so strong why didn't you stop him?"

The two stared at each other with anger until Raven stepped forward "Cyborg's right, we let him go, it's not his fault. If anything we should be grateful that he's looking out for us"

Bruce took the opening and ran with it "tonight, we all go together, Gar may think that we can't take it down, but he'll be in for a surprise…"

* * *

The five of them stayed as a group with Star and Raven doing high altitude recon and Batman, Robin and Cyborg slowly following on the ground. After three hours of searching Star's communicator buzzed, Robin's voice crackled forth "okay guys, come on down, this isn't working"

They all met on the ground and Cy rubbed the top of his head "guys, my sensors are starting to show we got another storm incoming…and why is it that when it rains in this town it freakin' pours!"

Bruce shrugged "I guess it's a good thing, if the Chimera can't hunt than it's going to be a good night, let's get back and get some sleep"

Robin, Cyborg and Batman all climbed into the bat mobile and the ground shook as the car roared to life, Star took off as soon as the others left, Raven stared at an alley, something about it scared her, it felt as if an oppressive miasma radiated forth from its dark entrance. Like Hades' gate. As she started to take a step a bolt of lightning struck right behind her throwing her into the alley. And there she got a glimpse of hell.

Ten people whimpered in a corner and one body was strung in front of them. It was the same as all the others. Another victim of the Chimera. She looked further into the shadows and trembled. A wolf stared at her as it lapped up the blood from the throat of the dead man. As it walked over she realized how large it was, the beast's shoulders were taller than she was and it was nearly thirty feet long. It broke eye contact to look at those huddled in the corner and flicked it's nose towards the open street and they took off. Raven was alone with the one beast that scared her. As it approached her fear lessened, yet from it she felt rage and the will to kill as it stared at her with large piercing black eyes. The Chimera stood on it's hind legs and it's body morphed slightly, it shrunk just enough to not be seen over the buildings and it's legs filled out to better support itself and paws changed into hands. Raven dared not breath as it closed in, it touched it's nose to her gemmed chakra and she fell into a darkness.

She awoke to find a frightened group above her in her mind it sounded like a bad joke ' a Tamaranean princess, a cyborg, Batman and Robin walk into a bar…' she slowly sat up "what happened?"

Starfire's pale face regained a little bit of it's color "We do not know, maybe you could tell us Friend Raven?"

Raven recounted how she thought the alley was off, then the bolt, then the Chimera. Raven then looked around and asked the chilling question "how did I get here?"

Bruce answered "we found you at the door. We_ think_ the Chimera brought you back but that makes things all the scarier" he tapped lightly on his keyboard and several dozen pictures showed up. All blank but one of the Chimera in it's humanoid form cradling Raven to it's chest and staring right at the camera. Bruce looked at the teens "it's not only highly intelligent, it also knows who I am, that you guys are staying here and know where the cameras are and how to avoid them."

Raven stared at the picture "Last night it let people go…does that mean it's targeting specific people?"

The others froze at the implications before leaping into action, with several choice words Bruce and his sidekick started tapping on numerous computers as Cy and Star took a patrol route. Since he had seemed to know something about it Raven rushed back to Gar's apartment only to find it locked. She fumbled with her belt to get the card out and made her way to the shop.

Gar sat on a stool needling a design onto one of the patrons back, a young man. Gar looked up "Hey Raven, what's the matter? Give me a second and I'll be done" She let out a deep sigh and sat next to him, another worker moved to sit in the tattoo chair next to the patron watching as Gar pierced the skin with a steady hand. The artist lightly dabbed the droplets of blood away "all done Pete" soon the patron left and Raven stared at Gar. He wore the same thing as when he went hunting the Chimera "what's up?"

Raven shook her head "can we talk with him around?" she motioned towards the other man, a thirty-something with a long blond beard, black shades and a black do-rag over his long blond hair.

The stranger chuckled "I'm Dave…and I think it'd be okay" Gar nodded.

Raven started "It's about the Chimera case"

Dave shot in with a "that's the only thing interesting about this damn town"

"It's intelligent. Very intelligent, it managed to sneak past all Batman's cameras-"

Dave cut in again "You know Batman?"

Gar nodded "it kinda comes with the superhero biz" he looked back at Raven "tell us what happened"

As she recounted the event for the second time that day she was met with a low whistle from Dave and a panicked look from Gar who looked across her for any injury. She caught his gaze "I'm fine, I just need to wash up"

Dave nodded to a door behind the counter "second door on the left" and she opened the door to the back and walked in, before moving on she heard Dave continue "You didn't tell me that Raven was that hot…why haven't you tapped that yet!"

Gar sighed "Look, she doesn't feel the same about me-"

Dave had a bad habit that was going to get him punched one of these days "whoa, whoawhoawhoa, are you saying you like her?"

Gar's voice had sorrow "more than that man, I love her. That's why I left Jump. I couldn't stand to see her and not be there. I mean what if she got hurt! What if I got her hurt? I couldn't do anything when that ran though my head. So I did what I could and left. I'm only helping because she's here. We both know Bruce hates me"

Silence reigned for a moment before Dave got up "I've got to go get refills for the blues…I'm gonna grab lunch too, what do ya want?"

Gar grumbled "usual" and Dave left with the bells chiming and Raven rushed to the second door on the left and entered.

She stepped out into the main area and sat down, her eyes never leaving him as he ran an antibacterial wipe over the chair. Her words froze him "I heard what you said to Dave…" her voice was very quiet. His face was a mask as he turned, the same one he hadn't let down since she had seen him, she continued on quietly "Was it true?"

Gar stood up and walked behind the main counter "I make it a point not to lie. I know you don't feel anything like that for me but I can't help who I fall in love with" the last part was defensive. And she knew it.

But what was worse was what they both knew she was going to say "I'm sorry," her monotone didn't make it sound true "but I don't feel that way about you"

He picked up one of the needle guns and started to clean it "I know. That's why I didn't try anything."

After an awkward moment Raven handed him his old communicator "Just in case…I may not feel…that about you but I don't want you to get hurt"

Dave walked in "Hey Raven you staying for lunch?" he handed Gar a plastic bag and handed one to the Titan before taking the last one for himself and flipping the 'open' sign to 'closed' "I didn't know what to get you so I figured you'd take a K.U.B."

She looked at the box wearily "K.U.B?" the bright red letters were stamped onto the box.

Gar didn't even look up as he dunked the tips of the needles into alcohol then lit them with a match "Karoline's Ultimate Burger. They sell out everyday."

She looked at Gar with a small hint of…something in her look "what did you get?"

Dave laughed "the triple boca tofu taco burger , same as he always gets…Karoline's always trying to break the vegan thing…doesn't help that she's trying to catch him"

Raven looked at Gar who walked into the back room "catch him?"

Dave leaned back onto the tattoo chair "yeah as in get married to him, he always says no though…shame" he took a bite of the burger and some fries "Such a good cook, he feels bad every time he says no though….he might not hold out much longer…" he waggled his eyebrows.

Raven shook her head "He told me he loves me…"

Dave had an unsuspecting grin on his face "AAAAND?!"

Raven shook her head "I don't feel that way about him…"

Dave suddenly had a serious look on his face "well, do you feel that way about anyone else?" she shook her head "give it a try, he's changed a lot since he got here…and not for the better. You might." suddenly his face was happy again "and someday soon I might get to play with your little kiddies" he gasped and held his hands over his heart and squealed "THEY'D BE SO DAMN CUTE!" Raven stared at the suspected bipolar man and slowly stepped backwards and tripped over something before falling into a wall, as she fell off the wall arms wrapped around her, she had tripped over his shoe as he had entered the room, the wall was his chest and he simply stopped her from falling.

She was about to speak but the Titan communicators buzzed and both Raven and Gar looked at the screen Raven rushed off with a hasty "nice to meet you and good bye, patrol's starting"

* * *

The next day Bruce looked at the Titans "I think we may have a problem"

Robin looked at the screen and saw nothing amiss "what is it?"

Bruce zoomed in, where once there was only _'Chimera'_ there was more

_I see you Bat._

_Of a hundred and four _

_Seventy are left_

_I see no Titans only children_

_And the Chimera sees all_

Robin looked at Raven "you said Beast Boy knew something about the Chimera?" at her nod he continued "Call him and tell him we're coming over to get more information"

Raven tapped the buttons and waited "Gar, it's Raven. Robin wanted me to tell you we need to come over and get more infor-"

"No"

"But we need the infor-"

"You can come over, not the others. I don't want to deal with them"

She turned to Robin and told him before flying off to see what she could get.

* * *

She opened the door to see him sitting there with two cups of tea in front of him on the coffee table "Hey, Rae"

She sat down at the far end of the sofa "we need more information, we can't catch the Chimera without your help…like why it doesn't hunt in the rain"

He shrugged "the Chimera is a hunter, the rain is the enemy of hunters everywhere, the heavy rain wipes away smells and obscures hearing by echoing the sounds, and the rain is a curtain against it's eyes…yet it has picked up some tricks from it's time in Africa"

She stared at him "It was in Africa? How do you know?"

He lifted up the bone china and took a small sip "It was in Africa for four years, I know because I've been tracking it."

She turned to face him and stared at him "tell me what you know" her violet eyes looked at him for answers. Just a few short months ago he tried to bring a smile to them. He had failed, but he still couldn't say no to them.

"The Chimera is a creature born in Africa, on the southern coast. it was a normal creature until something happened… the next time it was seen it had changed into the beast it is now. It waited and bid it's time until it returned state side, for twelve years it hid out in different cities. Never doing anything that would put it out in the spotlight. It decided to change recently and now it's attacking prey."

She took a nervous sip and the cup shook as she set it back on the saucer "does it choose it's prey or is it an indiscriminate killer?"

He leaned back and put his arms across the back of the sofa "it chooses people, it chooses those who are living out here that had something to do with what happened to it all those years ago in Africa. But if anyone tries to capture it before then…blood will be shed. It has nothing left to loose and it knows that" he looked dead in her eyes "It's a force of nature, a hurricane of blood"

She leaned back "what do you suggest we do? Leave it to what it wants to do?"

He closed his eyes and stayed silent for a long time she thought he was asleep until he picked up the cups and cleaned them "…I suggest that you leave it, the message said seventy left. Let it do what it needs to…I really don't think it can be stopped"

Raven left feeling like she gained nothing but lost the small bit of hope she had of catching the criminal. When she got back the first thing that happened was Robin wanted a report. All she said was "Gar thinks nothing can stop it…it's lain low for years and knows how to move undetected"

Starfire tilted her head "Friend Raven? Who is Gar?"

Cy stepped up "Gar is BB's real name. but why is he using it now?"

Raven spoke again "he said that Beast Boy was a Titan so he doesn't go by it anymore…" Cyborg and Star cringed at the mention of his leaving.

Bruce walked up "No matter what I refuse to see this killer free"

Alfred walked in "Sir, you may want to see this…" the TV flicked on and one of the men that had run from the Chimera was on TV wearing a tribal outfit, a loincloth of leaves and white tattoos on his uncovered body

He looked at the camera _"Awake Gotham! This creature is a God! See how it controls us with fear! See how it cannot be captured! It is a primal force here to change us! Seek us out and you shall be protected! Do not and the God made of wind and fury will claim you!"_

Bruce stared at it before shaking his head "this needs to end now"

* * *

They found it after a long while, it was an accident, Cy had tried to find a bathroom and saw the body. Then the chase was on, it didn't try to fight them just run. Until Batman threw something at it, it looked just like a batarang. Until a giant gash opened up in the Chimera's side. With a roar of pain the creature turned around.

As they were chasing their target they didn't realize how large the Chimera was. Until it turned. With a growl it raised it's hackles and grew to it's true height, with the snap on sinew and rip of muscle it changed. It's fangs stretched until the jagged razor ends couldn't be contained by it's large mouth, it's paws changed until seven obsidian blades cut through the concrete and it grew until it's shoulders were level with the three story buildings . It's feral black eyes glared at each of them as the silver beast growled and Raven felt even Rage shudder at the beast they managed to anger.

They were at a stand off until Robin threw a bomb at it. As the smoke cleared the beast charged, with one swipe of a massive paw Cyborg flew into a wall hard enough to go through the bricks, through the shop, through the next wall and into the street. Just as he stood Robin and Star slammed into him and he fell again, he crouched and rubbed the non-metal part of his skull "What the hell is that thing?" after a moment Batman rushed around the corner just fast enough to avoid the snapping jaws that didn't follow him around the corner. Cy waited for a second "G-Guys, where's Rae?"

She stood frozen by fear, yet she knew this beast would not hurt her. It limped over, the gash tipped the shoulder just enough to make movement difficult. It touched her with it's large nose and took off bounding towards the other direction. The others raced around the corner and saw she was unharmed.

Robin took a moment to catalogue his bruises "where did it go?"

Star flew up and shook her head "Nothing here Friend Robin…I am sorry"

Raven knelt down and touched the large red puddle "Blood, we can follow the blood…"

It lead them on a winding trail through all corners of Gotham. Until Raven looked around "I know this place…but that would mean…" and at his door the blood stopped.

Robin kicked the door and they fanned out, calls from each room rang the same "Clear"

"Clear"

"Clear"

"Clear"

"Clear" Batman looked to Raven "You said you knew this place?"

She nodded slowly "This is Gar's home…" they combed through each room and found nothing, not even a set of clothes. Her communicator rang and she held it to her ear "What the hell is going on Gar?" the others stopped at the venom in her voice.

Thunder crashed as its brother stabbed the sky, his voice was a harsh gasp "Sorry, you guys found out…The Chimera's doing what needs to be done…I'll see you when this is done" he gasped in pain

"Gar don't you dare hang up, I need answers!" she gripped the phone as she looked out a window and saw him at the edge of the roof across the street. Watching her.

His voice sounded sorry "when this is over I can tell you everything. Until then don't get in my way, I couldn't bare the thought of hurting you….but this will be finished, my feeling mean nothing if I can't do this" she stared at the phone as the dead tone carried across the air in the apartment.

* * *

Something new hit the town that night

_Garfield Mark Logan,_ _formerly Beast Boy, has been found to be the Chimera. Wanted for fifty-two counts of murder. Consider armed and dangerous. If you have any information please contact the special help line_.

Bruce stared around the table to see the Titans in various states of emotion. Robin was angry, Starfire was completely stunned, Cyborg was weeping into a comically large tissue while Raven looked normal. After watching them for a moment he spoke "I know it's hard to know someone's betrayed you-"

Robin growled "He can only betray us if he was a titan. I kicked him out"

Cyborg slammed a gigantic metal fist into the table "You dick! YOU were the one who drove him to kill! YOU'RE the KILLER!"

Star just watched in detachment as Raven thought. Who could have known anything, he only had one friend in this town….she shot up and raced out of the building. Starfire raced after her while the others believed that she couldn't take their arguing.

She entered the shop and found Dave smoking a thin cigarette while working on his arm, he didn't look up "Hello Raven…" he did glace up at the sound of a second set of feet "and you must be Starfire" his needles buzzed harshly in the air "I take it you found the Chimera?"

Raven and Star sat on two stools. Raven accused "You knew and didn't tell us"

He laughed a thin harsh cackle "I couldn't…you don't really know who I am"

Raven hissed "Try me"

He looked back down to his arm and pressed the thin needle through his skin. The harsh buzz and the occasional puff of smoke were the only two sounds in the dark air. Rain started to fall, yet neither the artist nor the Titans seemed to notice.

Dave leaned back and wrapped a towel around his arm "…do you ever have regrets?"

Starfire nodded "yes, we all do"

The man shook his head "no, I mean a true regret. One that make you stay awake at night wondering if it was worth it?" the Titans were silent "I have many, for the last five years I've hunted down my greatest one. He didn't do anything to me…but the others…they don't speak anymore."

Raven's eyes narrowed "what do you mean?" a sense of dread crawled up her spine and a glance at Star confirmed the princess felt it too.

Dave sat on the tattoo chair and watched them through tinted lenses, they were too young, his crimes were before they were born. A puff of smoke curled in the air, wrapping around the fan and fading from view "I…" he closed his mouth and stared at the two girls "Have you ever done something horrendous to do something good?"

The red head looked at him "Do bad to do good? I do not understand"

Raven answered "He means to do something like steal and protect something so somebody else can't damage it"

The owner of the parlor shook his head "you're thinking something bad. I said horrendous…like genocide"

The two girls looked visibly ill at his words "now you're starting to understand" he walked to the counter and took out a small book. The two girls moved to the counter and stared as he opened the book to a picture of a family. A mother, a father and a small boy, no more than three smiling at the camera. "I killed them. Or rather the parents. Gar survived. I don't know how but I almost wish he didn't. then he wouldn't have to suffer like I will"

Raven's eyes glowed white as she hissed "Quite speaking in riddles! What do you mean!"

Dave took off his glasses and set them on the counter "I was part of a cartel in the southern part of Africa. I'm the one most responsible for killing Gar's parents"

* * *

_Eyes reflected the rising moon as his jagged claws ripped into the solid stone beneath him, his blood pulsed as he lifted his head. His prey was close. A gunshot and a prick on his think hide. He turned. Others, sacks of flesh too stupid to realize what he was now. Another gunshot and he turned his massive head and growled. They didn't move anymore, like a broken doll, strings cut. But the blood he craved was in a different direction…_

* * *

Dave leaned back against the wall "I lived in Africa since I was born. My parents were working at the embassy when I was born. They died in a bombing and I had no where to turn to. Then the Cartel approached me, offered me a life. As a naive ten year old I took it. As it stands now I'm wanted in almost every country for 800 crimes ranging from conspiracy to commit murder, drug trafficking, murder, illegal possession of a nuclear weapon and jaywalking, along with a rather unfortunate charge of prostitution, just to name a few"

He flicked a switch and the coffee machine came on and the smell of the brew started to permeate the air, Raven looked at him "But why Gar? Why not all those others?"

Dave poured three cups and Star warily looked at the brown liquid and followed her friend's lead and took a sip of the scalding liquid. Dave sighed and rubbed his eyes "Because he was the only one who mattered. Neither of you have killed someone so you wouldn't know, but at death most people resign themselves. They know their dying and they fight but they understand that it's futile…but he fought, we shot him so full of holes that he should have died of blood loss. Yet he lived. And that's when it hit me, he was here to do something. Since then I scoured every place I could think that he might be. Five years ago I heard that he was Stateside and got here as quick as I could. I got to Jump and bided my time. I nearly had all the information, I didn't want to get the wrong man, then he was gone. Then my search happened anew. Then I met him in Gotham, he was walking just across the street and I pulled him in. I told him everything.'

He was silent for a long time as thin fingers of smoke from the forgotten cig wrapped around him, Raven stared at him trying to piece together this man who seemed so kind yet professed to genocide. Starfire felt something she hadn't noticed before, Raven was more worried about this story than she should be, a friend's decent into Hell was more than she had though. But the dark girl was taking it like her own fall.

Dave took a slow sip of his coffee an refilled the mugs "He didn't say anything for a long time. I thought he was going to kill me, I could see it in his eyes."

Star's whisper were trembling words in the darkened room "saw what?"

"The capability and want for revenge. For recompense. For life. For death. He told me that the Cartel had moved here. He wanted their names. I gave them and watched as his homicidal rage changed him"

"The Chimera"

He nodded to the psychic, "The Chimera is something deeper than that though…I doubt anyone knows what really shaped it but I can tell you that he's killing each member. We deserve it, I just wish that he would kill me" he looked at the half eaten sandwich in front of him and picked at the hard stale bread.

Star tilted her head "Why do you want him to kill you?"

"My sins weigh on me like a great ocean, they crush me and grow on my tears. I cannot change what I have done and for that I am damned eternally."

* * *

_This was one of them, he foolishly believed himself safe. Safe from nature. He was unaware of the reaper lurking in the shadow until long fangs sunk into his throat, the Chimera hung him before writing his message and drinking the blood. With a snarl those lurking in the shadows leapt out to kill the beast._

* * *

That morning something had changed, people had started hunting the Chimera. And they had paid the price. Two had been killed as prey. Twenty had tried to kill him and paid with their lives as a tithe on stupidity.

Bruce was very pale as he looked at the list of dead with the Titans. Starfire saw his complexion "Friend Bruce? Why are you so pale? Do you feel ill?"

He nodded "I-I can't believe he did this"

Cyborg looked at the screen "did what?"

Bruce pointed to one name "That man was a villain by the name of Pyrocircus. Even if bullets couldn't hurt The Chimera the amount of heat he used should have hurt it. And now I can't really see a way of hurting it, after I hit it with a water cutter it was hunting in less than twenty-four hours. I really can't see a-" Raven's communicator rang and she turned away to answer. Dave's voice was strained and rushed making it harder to understand the waterfall of words that had flown out of his mouth. All she got was she needed to see what Gar had wrote.

As she and Starfire rushed to his shop they stopped to stare at the wall across the street from the small tattoo parlor, written in huge bloody letters

_They tried to hunt a predator_

_Foolish humans_

_If any try to follow they too shall die_

_For the Chimera sees all and has no conscience_

_Ego Mortem_

Raven whispered "'I am Death'" they looked to the forest just outside of Gotham. Where the huge prints lead.

* * *

Aqualad and the rest of Titans East looked at the original Titans is a stupor, they had just been told that one of their own had committed these killings and was prepared to kill as many as it took. Bee was the first to recover "so he's trying to kill members of the cartel that killed his parents but you can't tell us who told you?"

Raven nodded "Just know that he's done what he can to help us" and Dave really had but he was split about if he should help or not.

Aqualad looked at the others before standing from the chair in Bruce's home "If we know he's in the forest why not start there?" the others nodded and they quickly made their way to the forest.

As they went about setting up a base at the edge of the forest Cyborg tapped Robin on the shoulder and motioned him a little ways away "Dude, I don't think Aqualad should be in for this one…"

Robin looked at him like he was psycho "why? He's a good fighter and we need all the help we can get"

Cyborg shook his head "there ain't an easy way to say this…remember when we first met him?" at Robin's nod he continued "Remember how smitten Raven was?" another nod "Now picture this, Aqualad + Raven, who we know BB-Gar has feeling for + homicidal/genocidal emotions=…I really don't want to think about it but it can't be good!"

Robin shook his head, "It'll be fine, I don't think something like that will happen, we've got more than enough people to take down the craziest thing Gar can change into"

As night started to fall the heroes set up for the night, Batman spoke to the group "alright, in the week since we've called you we've had a development. The city is splintered into three factions. The smallest group is those actively hunting the Chimera-I don't want them getting hurt but they cannot, under any circumstances, find him, he will kill them. The next group is those who think the Chimera's a god, they want to find it and worship it, they won't be a problem but they might stop you from getting to Gar. Deal with them gently. The final group is the majority that just want to see this thing gone. The problem is that the two other factions are very vocal."

Mas Y Menos shot out something in Spanish until Batman lifted up his hands "Yes, I do think the hunter group is also after us, only because some body spread signs of us up, our bounties from the criminal organizations, be careful, they do have guns. But no, I don't think the worshiping group will physically stop us…think of them as peaceful protest." the twins nodded to each other and went back to roasting something on a stick…don't ask me what.

Some time later they fell asleep unaware of dozens of pairs of eyes watching them. One pair watched the other with a feral glint…

* * *

It started with a yell, a scream and the sound of gunshots, the Titans woke with a start and flashes of light from the west pulled their attention. They ran to see a group armed with guns- rifles, pistols, shotguns stare out into night from a tight circle around a campfire, they were frightened of something. A wolf howled from the darkness and dozens more lifted their heads and echoed the cry. Surrounded. The Titans watched from the trees until a large gray wolf walked alone into the light of the campfire of the hunters, it looked to the hunters then to the those hidden in the canopy of the trees before walking back into the dark.

Gar walked into the light after a moment of silence, he glanced towards the trees and scowled before looking at the hunters "Leave".

One of the hunters, seeing the thin man in front of him felt his confidence flow back "and why should we do that?" he leveled a shotgun at Gar's chest, "The way I see it we've got you out numbered by at least ten to one!"

As they cocked their guns Gar sighed and shook his head "Leave now and I won't have to kill you" they fired.

Gar leapt and became a sparrow, he flittered back into the dark, a moment later all was silent again. A breath of wind ghosted over Raven as a green own soared upwards and above the center of the circle of hunters. The leaves rustled before one of the hunters screamed and held his foot where two distinct needle like marks pierced his calf. They all turned to see their partner. A large bear appeared behind them silently and slashed another of their number to pieces and disappeared as the body slammed into another so hard it snapped his neck. They looked at the newly dead and turned back to see their bitten companion dead. In less than a minute he had died. The seven closed in on each other in a tight circle. A green wolf and the gray wolf entered the ring of light from opposite ends and with each were several dozen more wolves. The hunters died quickly with not a drop of blood from the wolves.

The heroes had sat in stunned silence as the hunters died. The wolves retreated leaving the green man staring at the group. He looked at each of them with eyes narrowed in anger. His whisper carried across the air "I told you not to try to stop me"

Bee glared at him "And you're trying to kill innocent people!"

With a short barking laugh he answered "Innocent? They didn't tell you who I was after?" the group looked to the two girls "I'm after the people who committed genocide, murder, and just about every other crime that would harm another person. None of you understand" and with that he walked to the edge of the circle. As he faded away he left with a parting shot "and none of you noticed that they walked right by your camp…"

They looked at each other with a deep sense of dread. Bee looked at the others "I'll take first watch"

* * *

The next day they started hunting in earnest. They stayed as a group after the little episode from the previous night and they had set up a large cage, 50 by 50 by 50, it was large enough that the Chimera couldn't get out but the solid walls would keep him from changing into something and sneaking out. Bee had found him and lead the others to him, he was sitting on a tree branch some thirty feet of the ground with his arms folded behind his head as he leaned against the gnarled trunk, his legs sat straight out one foot across the other as he looked down at them "Took you long enough"

Starfire floated up to him and pleaded "Beloved Friend Gar, please come with us, we can find some way out of this! Please, we do not want to see you doing these things"

Gar's eyes, a shade of green more splendid than the first growths of spring, flashed a dark and primal force "Starfire, I won't go with you till this is done. When it is I will turn myself in. but as none of you seem willing to help…" he morphed into a humming bird and raced off.

He led them on a jolly chase. As soon as they would start to fall behind he would show up, just as they raced in a circle for the sixth time Aqualad had an idea. He understood that Gar was in love with Raven, he didn't know about the changelings spark of anger at him. The water wonder screamed out "HEY BEAST BOY! WATCH THIS!" and he kissed the dark girl. She gasped, as did all the others, and he slipped his tongue into her mouth.

A green bear landed on the ground and slowly walked towards the group, rage reflected in his eyes. Aqualad pulled away with a grin as Gar rushed forward. Batman leapt in front and tossed two batarangs that were deflected by the heavy paw seconds before he himself was thrown into a tree. The hunter quickly changed into a large tiger and continued to stalk the atlantian, who taunted the morphed "come on, what's the matter, you not up for catching me?"

Gar roared. It echoed across the forest like a blazing cry of his anger. As his cry echoed Mas Y Menos slammed into his side throwing him into the cage where he turned back to his normal form and touched the glass. "Hmm, this is a big cage…"

Speedy sighed "It needs to be big for your transformations" Gar nodded.

Then Aqualad spoke "So, we've captured the Chimera!"

Gar's eyes narrowed as he glared in hate at the hero "You want the Chimera? Then you better get a bigger cage, asshole"

Aqualad smirked "I doubt you could bust out of this"

Gar laughed, not the normal happy laugh that the Titans adore, but a harsh sound as if he was tempting the world "This box can't hold a creature in a weight class with the largest of the dinosaurs" and he started to change into the Chimera.

When Gar morphed he ducked down and his body instantly changed into that of the creature. Now they watched in unholy awe. He hunched over as bones cracked and reformed, his skin stretched and split, blood ran down the wounds as the muscle beneath changed and twisted. As he changed the morphling would let out small sounds of pain as the liquid chaos rushed through his veins and broke him. His fingers curled into claws as he continued to grow. His back touched the roof of the cage and continued to strain against it until with a resounding crack the roof gave way.

Aqualad found himself staring at a creature that never existed, the gray wolf towered over the group by a hundred feet, it looked emaciated, a thinness of body that cried of chord-like muscles and whiplash brutality. The eyes were the same that had ran through Gar earlier that day, only now they had a great deal of hate and fury in them. With a growl that shook the very foundation of Gotham the Chimera spoke, a voice as timeless as the sky, rougher than the mountains and more lethal than the chill of winter "So, do you think that toy was big enough now?" and he leapt towards Aqualad. The others leapt to stop the Chimera only to be swatted away like so many flies before Raven stood in front of him. For the first time she was scared of the Chimera. She had seen the pain his body went through to transform, did the same go through his mind? Was he something else? Like a breath of wind he was above her, the blue-clad hero he was chasing. Raven's black aura covered him and pulled him behind her, the Chimera growled before turning and bounding deeper into the forest.

Batman limped by "…I hate to say it but I really can't see a way to stop him…"

* * *

All the Titans sat in Batman's mansion nursing wounds along with the great vigilante himself, save Raven. She helped Alfred get the medicines, hot pads and all the other things that could help the others. Cyborg sat in front of Robin with a scolding look on his face "I told you." Robin ducked his head as the elder Titan continued to stare at him "I told you and you blew it off. And we nearly got killed because of it."

Sufficiently chastised Robin nodded slowly and Cyborg walked away. Batman looked at the group and hobbled over, his leg had been badly bruised, he watched as the others sat still and tried to avoid moving. He knew Gar could have killed them as easily if not more so. Bruce lifted a hand "I vote we don't do that again, anyone else?" with a groan all of the present people lifted a hand.

* * *

_It was dark and thunder rumbled in the black clouds overhead, the latest victim stood under a building's overhang and counted a number of bills before grinning and stuffing them in his jacket with a chuckle. Blood called to him, a scent of copper and sin. He could hear the heartbeat of every creature within a hundred feet. No other human was here. Silken pads lifted him over the concrete and into the deeper shadows. The other's heart started to beat faster as his primal body realized he was in danger. Mortal danger. He stepped out in his smaller form, here his eyes were level with the man's, with a whimper the other ran. The creature stalked slowly. He had no need to rush, the storm was hours away and the scent of fear and sweat permeated the air and led him to his target. _

_The large man huffed as he leaned back against the wall. A howl and he froze. The beast was in front of him. He locked eyes with the creature and slowly felt himself fall under its spell._

_Its eyes swirled with every shade of green imaginable, they faded one into another until he was completely at it's mercy. He slowly padded over before turning back into himself and taking the length of rope out of his backpack. He tied the rope around his victim's feet and flung the rest over a lamp post and pulled him up before tying it around the base. Now his prey swung with the breeze before he changed back into what he needed to be. _

_He walked forward before he ripped the man's throat out, the crimson life rushed out only to be drunk by the creature until only enough was left to write it's identity. With another howl it walked back into the darkness._

* * *

Raven stood on the roof as Sol began its accent into the sky. Her mind whirled with the repercussions of what she was about to do. With a calming breath she sat and began to meditate.

Her mind touched Gar's and she recoiled as if stung. Her mind had seen an inscription in gray stone filled with blood-

_Through me the way into the Suffering City,_

_Through me the way to the Eternal Pain,_

_Through me the way that runs among the lost._

_Justice urged on my high artificer;_

_My maker was divine authority,_

_The highest wisdom, and the Primal Love._

_Before me nothing but eternal things_

_Were made, and I endure eternally._

_Abandon every hope, who enter here._

She shuddered as Dante's warnings sounded in her mind. She floated off the roof to find him, she seemed to be the only one who he wouldn't hurt. She had questions, too many for her liking, like why kill these people like that, what was he doing drinking their blood. And why was Dante's inscription of the entrance to Hell inscribed in his mind. Her mind wandered as her body followed the trail to his mind. The forest. The deepest part. The darkest part. He sat in a tree with legs extended as he watched the sun rise above the branches.

She floated down to the ground, eyes drifting upwards, she focused on him. He looked relaxed even in the black clothes and so far up the tree that a squirrel would have a bout of vertigo. He knew she was there. He knew where she was and what she was doing the instant she touched his mind.

His green eyes, constantly moving from shade to shade, met her purples and he leapt down until a mere three feet from the solid ground flickered into a hummingbird then back.

He stood still as she walked closer, arm length, his voice had gotten rougher since he had left his home "What are you doing here? Aren't you afraid of getting killed?" his façade never fell.

She shook her head "No, you never hurt me…and you avoided killing. Even Aqualad" he growled and she looked into his eyes "Why are you killing them?"

With a dead tone he leaned closer to her "why don't you see for yourself?" she pressed her hand to his cheek and watched the memory

_The boat wobbled as the waves dragged rough claws down the back, attempting to pry it from the rocks. The green little boy cried until his body disgorged itself over the side. The pain was unspeakable, hot lead burned through his torso and the knife had carved a picture on his chest. But the only two things that were constant in his life were gone. His father had been shot as soon as the cartel saw the boat on the river. The boy tried to cover his heaving chest and bloody back with his shredded clothes. He never knew that humans could be so cruel. His mother fought as they raped her. After she died of blood loss they turned their…aggression on him. He cried into torn hands as he tried to stand against the pain and failed. He was full of pain as light rain washed away the blood on his body. His heart was torn out and he cried for days. He walked to a village. He met others. He retreated back to the corner whenever a person looked at him. He was broken._

Raven pulled her hand away with a gasp, she grasped at her heart as she still felt the void that the man in front of her endured for years. He calmly grabbed her hand and put it back against his cheek. She found no comfort there.

_He flew overhead as an owl as the man scoffed at a homeless man and kicked the victim several times before walking on. He shuffled into a dark ally to count the money he pulled off his latest mugging. The owl floated down soundlessly in front of him and large green eyes stared at him. The man didn't notice. Bones cracked and muscles tore. He looked up only to see the most disturbing eyes he would ever see. As he was tied up he couldn't move. Trapped within his own body. Then he felt the teeth sink into his flesh and his blood start to pour out onto the ground. Just as the pain was subsiding a warmth washed across the wound. He felt no more. _

Raven slipped out of the memory and into the present. He stepped away from her "Don't chase me anymore. I'm not going to stop"

She waved her hand and a black hand of energy wrapped around him "I have you." her monotone giving away nothing as she brought him close to her.

He gave a harsh chuckle "You've always had me" he kissed her and her grasp faltered and he leapt back into the forest leaving her alone and with more questions than ever.

* * *

They started working in shifts. One would help Bruce while the other looked after Jump City. They never did catch him. Each time they got close he was gone. Then one day they got a call they least expected.

And here the stood looking at him.

The Chimera, Garfield Logan walked into the prison. He had given himself up. Two years of hunting. 104 counts of murder. 37 of manslaughter and 201 of self-defense.

He stood in a white jumpsuit with wrists and ankles cuffed, seven men had poles with wire around his neck, his mouth had a mask. He saw the Titans and stopped moving. His captures jerked on the wire but he did not move. Head warden Markus of Jump City's prison, known as "Hell's Waiting Room" , walked over "Would you like to speak to them?" Markus was a kind elderly man with thin framed glasses and a white suite around his tiny frame. He motioned the Titans closer and removed the mask.

Gar watched them and quietly said "Take care"

Robin nodded as his voice broke "Y-you too…"

Star hugged him.

Cyborg gave the strongest smile he could "When you get out, I'm kicking your scrawny ass as Monkey invaders!"

Gar beamed back "I look forward to it"

Raven stayed silent.

The warden put the lock back on and Gar Logan entered the prison.

Raven stood watching the gates. Something told her that life wouldn't let him rot in there, he would soon be out. And that scared her.


	2. Release

The Titans were apprehensive as they walked down the halls of the prison. Criminals jeered, yelled and threatened them from all sides within the two story complex. The two guards accompanying them took two different approaches, the younger gulped and held his gun tighter, the elder smiled lazily before counting down beneath his breath "five…four…three…two…one"

"Enough" then the prison fell into complete silence, it wasn't a loud voice but the elder guard smirked as it echoed through the concrete . Gizmo and Mammoth huddled in the corner of their cell with fear in their eyes. The group of six continued walking until they came across the cell they were looking for.

Cell 666. The cell of the Chimera, a guard snoozed in his chair while the doors hung open. Jail break?! Where was he?! They rushed around the miniature building to see their quarry sitting at a small card table playing chess with the Warden who chuckled "And I do believed you win again…"

The Chimera nodded "…Warden, visitors" Warden Markus shot up and rushed over to the Titans.

He sheepishly scratched the back of his head "My apologies, I was just trying to play a small game to pass the time. Since he's gotten here nobody really acts up…"

Robin eyed the warden for a long moment "Is he up for it?" at the Warden's nod he cautiously walked into the cell "Gar, do you know why I'm here?"

Garfield Mark Logan, formerly Beast Boy of the Teen Titans, now feared at the Chimera propped his feet up on the table and opened up a newspaper "I'm guessing it has to do with the double homicide yesterday at 5:23:47 at the City Park, you're wanting to see if I did it. The answer is no, I was here and have 142 witnesses."

Cyborg stared at the little-former little-green changeling and whistled "How do ya get that many witnesses?"

The Chimera lifted a thin porcelain bowl like cup to his lips "at the time Gizmo and Mammoth tried to break out. I helped out the guards."

They were silent until Raven asked "What type of tea is that? I don't recognize the smell"

He handed his cup to her and she took a sip and hummed with the slight glow that coursed through her "It's called Shennong tea, it's the oldest form of tea" she handed the cup back to him and he continued to watch her. Robin started to turn away when Gar spoke again "You won't find him on your own…you'll need a hunter"

Robin turned back to him "We will take him down." he turned to the warden "make DAMN sure he's in his cage from now on" his anger was rattling him.

* * *

Warden Markus walked into his office the next day to see Robin sitting in one of the chairs "Good morning mister Robin, what can I do for you today?"

The hero seemed slightly dejected "Do you have the video surveillance for Garfield last night?"

The Warden nodded and handed him the tape "Nothing happens, after dinner he went into his cell and read for approximately five hours before requesting another book and going to sleep. That's all. Why do you want to know?"

Robin slumped into the chair and rubbed his eyes warily "last night four people were killed. Gar may have been right…" he stood up "can you take me to his cell. I need to talk to him"

* * *

Robin crossed his arms as he stared at the green man who stared back "'Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you'" he murmured before speaking to the changeling "Gar, we need your help."

The changeling walked to the glass and peered deeply into the eyes behind the mask "What have I to gain from helping you?" This new Gar had Robin stunned. This was not the kind joker that he had known. His man was emotionless to the point that Raven looked like an amateur in comparison.

Robin cleared his throat "I've been authorized to get you out of here before your 200 year sentence is up"

The changeling shot in "Full erasure? Clean records?" the boy-no, young man nodded "that's all well and good but I have one more condition…"

Robin stared suspiciously at him "What else do you want? A job?"

Gar nodded before turning around and walking to the bed that sat at the other end of the room "Yes, you can't make a living without a job…but there are some problems. Even with a full pardon the past has been done, not to mention that I have a very unique skill set." he fell silent and Robin's mind whirled with possible meanings. "I want back in."

Robin stared in shock at the serious man "I-I'll have to talk with the others about that…"

Gar nodded "I would possibly like an answer tomorrow so I can help you as soon as possible." than in a voice almost too quite to hear he continued "something tells me this will be a long fight…"

* * *

Robin sat in the living room and sighed at the three "Gar says he will help" he forestalled the cheers with an upraised hand "But he wants back into the Titans…I said I would talk to you guys about it"

At the news even Raven was shocked, they all sat in various states of concentration until Cyborg nodded "I think he should be back in, I mean what's he gonna do for a living? Somehow I don't see him typing on a computer all day…"

Starfire nodded "I also do not see Friend Garfield sitting down for a job, he is too much…himself for that to be good. I vote to allow him to join us again"

Raven looked at the leader of the group "What do you think?"

He sifted back and forth from one foot to the other "I…I think it may be a good idea, lately some of the villains have been getting better gear and it has been harder…" he shook his head "But I don't know if I can trust him after he killed so many people…" and he looked at Raven.

She sighed "I don't think we should. He _killed _people, we made it a rule that we shouldn't kill. After he left he didn't even try to stop crime, in fact he went the other way and committed one of the most heinous crimes I've ever heard about"

Cyborg stared at her hard for a moment "…you found out didn't you?" Raven looked down at her shoes, the metal man sighed "two years and no difference. Look Robin, whether you like it or not we need him, and he won't do it unless he's on the team. As I see it we have no choice" Robin reluctantly nodded.

* * *

For the first time in two years he was let out of his cage other than to go to the library or the work out room. He was a free man. He didn't smile though, he had done what Raven had and pushed all emotions away, he had to when he embarked on his crusade. After his first kill he dry heaved for hours until he passed out, luckily Dave had found him and sheltered him.

He slowly walked as Robin led him to the counter where in old stuff had been placed. The prison was silent as he walked by, in only two years he had made this place peaceful, as he passed Gizmo and Mammoth's cell he stopped and stared at the duo "Remember, mammoths are herbivores…" Mammoth shuddered and nodded as he continued past.

After changing out of his orange jumpsuit and into his normal clothes, military boots, black jeans, a black shirt and his leather jacket and he tossed a backpack over his shoulder. And his communicator, the little indestructible disk perched on the side of his belt as a symbol. He ran a finger along the scarred case and they made their way to the tower. Where more than anything else hope lived.

Gar stopped at the doors to the home of heroes, the Titan's home. He pressed his gloved hand to the scanner and the mechanical voice beeped "Access granted" he walked in and took the elevator to the common room. Robin had gone on ahead of him. He wanted to remember some of the things this place had to offer and he took his time. The solid doors slip open and he gripped the strap of the bag tightly as he looked out across the bay through the great windows, he could see the water lap at the rocks. The ocean, the sunlight. His lips twitched upwards as he felt a tinge of happiness.

Cyborg was the first to notice, he welcomed the changeling with a bone crushing hug and tears. Star greeted him with what she called a 'pudding of reunion' he ate the entire thing. Without gagging. After asking if it had no meat, of course. Raven stared at him from the couch and didn't offer a greeting. Soon they sat around the common room, the four sat on the semicircular couch while he leaned on the window letting the sun heat his back in the most pleasant of ways.

Robin smirked "So what do we call you? Gar isn't a superhero name and Beast _Boy _doesn't really fit anymore" he said gesturing at the taller man in front of him.

Starfire touched her chin with a thin finger as she pursed her lips "What about Changeling? I have heard this name before…"

Raven simply said "Chimera" the room froze as if she had told them she was dead.

Cyborg shook his head slowly as the tension mounted "…I don't think that would be-"

"No" two voices cut him off, Robin and Gar. Robin looked at the other who motioned him first "no, it's perfect. Think about it, somebody know for vigilantly justice. Someone who, when push comes to shove, can blast past anyone else…" he had a tight grin.

Gar lifted a brow at the bird boy and sighed "Chimera is who I am, and I won't let anyone forget that. My past makes me much more…flexible than any of you. And I think being put with the Titans again may…discourage a bit of crime" he gave a smile that bared his sharp teeth.

They shuddered and agreed Chimera stretched started to move towards the hall "I'm going to clean my room…I've got to change it, several years worth of change…then I'll get to work on the case. I'll need access to everything you have"

Cyborg nodded "yeah, how bout here in an hour I get you hooked up and we can get you ready, sound good?" the morphling gave a thumbs up and walked out of the room.

Raven stared at Robin, "I still don't think this was a good idea"

* * *

Cyborg stepped into the room to find it more bare than when it had first been constructed. The walls were down to a base coat of white paint while the carpet was ripped up leaving the concrete showing. "Ummm, Chi? I'm here, you ready?"

The changeling nodded before asking "What did you call me?"

Cy grinned and this lifted a small smile from Gar "Chi- you know short for Chimera…it's a little bit of a mouthful!"

The shape shifter sighed "Yeah, but before that I need to take this stuff to goodwill or something…" the cyborg held up the keys to the car and soon all the junk was gone and in its place was something that nearly seemed foreign after having the riotous mess in the room for so long.

Robin peeked his head in "whoa, that's something new…where are you going?"

Chi spoke with a monotone "I'm going to speak to my informant. I'll be gone for awhile"

He walked around the corner and stopped. He quickly folded on himself as pain warped his perceptions and in his place sat a small bat, a Seychelles sheath-tailed bat. Humans don't know how keen the senses of animal are, and this form allowed him to do what only a handful of other species could do-read emotions, beyond what was at the front of a mind. He let the wave wash over him until he found it. He rushed out of the tower before his rage changed him into the Chimera. He would hate to kill his teammates so early after getting out.

* * *

Dave sat in his little shop with Gar. The former was sitting in the chair as David, his newly wed wife and three other each had a gun and were needling almost his entire body. Green tinted blood poured off the chair in a steady stream as thousands of punctures wept. Dave pulled away from the group for a moment "Gar…you sure you want to do this? All at once?" a nod was all he got before wiping his brow and starting again. _better that these wounds weep than tears fall from my eyes_

Gar had spoken with Dave for a while before the pain had begun. Dave never asked if he didn't want this mark. The twisting forms were the only thing Dave could do for his friend. As the Chimera's marks bled across green skin everyone but Dave and Gar left. The elder man stared at the tattoos as the younger slowly slid on his clothes, staining them a crimson color. Dave had to ask "I know you said these markings were for when things got bad…what happened?"

The ragged skin on his arm started to split as his remembered rage coursed through him, his nails twisted into hardened claws before he reigned in his powers. He took a long breath and began as if a robot "I changed into an animal that can sense emotion. I wanted to know how they really felt about having me back. I stumbled across something that-" he suddenly stopped as he ground his teeth and crushed the plastic peroxide cap in his hands to dust, with another breath he continued "I found something that I hate."

Dave nodded "I understand" and he really did., he understood hating something so bad that you would do anything to change it. He twisted the ring on his finger "Is this about Raven?" the changeling silently nodded and gritted his teeth "Ya' know it's a good thing your mouth is damn near indestructible or else you'd have pain like you wouldn't believe"

Gar watched Dave for a long minute "I'm already in pain, and honestly I don't think I could feel any worse. I found out that Starefire, Robin and Raven are scared of me, like I'm the plague and Raven and Robin loathe me for what I've done!" his voice was in a crescendo and his body started twisting as the Chimera started writhing for release "NOT TO MENTION BOTH RAVEN AND STARFIRE ARE IN LOVE WITH THAT ASSHOLE!"

Dave nearly dropped his cup, "What?!" it came out as a shocked gasp and Gar quickly deflated until he lay slumped in the chair as his body sunk in on itself. He was the most venerable he had been since his birth.

Gar let his head fall back onto the chair "Yeah, both of them are in love with Robin. I think he knows it too. And here I am just-" he growled and forced himself into a state of detachment.

Dave walked over and gently patted the bloody back of his friend "Alright" his voice was very calm and soothing to the younger man "Here's what you can do, you can go back to the tower or you can come with me, I've got a guest bed you can use. But first you need to focus on healing or else these are not going to heal right and that would be the worst thing you could have happen when they cover almost all your body"

Gar stood "I'll be back in a few days to check in, but for now I better get back to the tower"

* * *

As the doors opened to the common room everyone was standing there, they stared at him for a moment until he made to go to his room. Robin stepped forward "where are you going?"

Gar leashed in his rage and answered coolly "To my room"

Robin grabbed the back of his shirt as Gar hadn't taken his jacket "oh, no you don't!"

Gar whipped around so quickly that his shirt tore off and snarled "Don't you dare touch me!" the snarl made them flinch "Keep your filthy fuckin' hands off me or I'll take them off!" and he stalked off leaving the stunned other to try to figure out what was going on.

Robin peered at the shirt closely and dropped it and it hit the floor with a wet smack. Blood. Robin stared at the cloth for a long moment "were those tattoos?" Cyborg nodded slowly "Ummm, someone should go talk to him, and you guys heard him, if I touch him he will kill me"

Cyborg stepped forward "I'll do it-"

Star cut in "No, Friend Cyborg, I wish to do it. I want to understand what is wrong with Friend Bea-Chimera" she slowly walked to his door and the soundproof doors slid open.

* * *

She stared at the room, the once bright room was painted a dark ominous green, where there had once been bunk beds now had a king sized bed with a dark blood red set, the window was now framed by black bookshelves and covered by very dark gray curtains with a black rod even the floor wasn't spared the change, it was now a plush black carpet. At the moment those were the only things in the room save the chair that Gar sat in. he had not replaced his shirt and in the dark his eyes glowed with a feral glint "what do you want Starfire?" the door slid closed and she was alone with him as the dim light that slipped around the curtains illuminated the room only enough that she could see where things were.

She sat on the bed "Friend Chimera, why are you so angry with Robin?"

The light suddenly wasn't enough as she could feel anger roll off him like wave of liquid rage "I am angry with a lot of things, that's who I am now. It's who I've always been but none of you saw it. And if they sent you than they're worse off than I thought"

"Why do you say these things? You were never this upset before…"

He growled "Starfire, do you know what a façade is?" the Tameranaen shook her head "it's a kind of mask that covers not only the face but an entire personality. A false front if you will. Mine is broken while other cower behind what I really am, now tell me, how happy am I supposed to be?"

She moved closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder only to leap back when it came away covered with blood "Chimera, what have you done to yourself?!"

He gave a dry mirthless laugh, "Tattoos are made by punching little holes in your skin, when you cover your body in a single day blood flows"

She sat down "tell me of these tattoos, I wish to know…"

Two hours passed and yet the others were not concerned, the princess was nearly indestructible and no sounds of a fight had been heard so they left them alone.

Starfire had spoken for the vast majority of the time "So these marking are your sadness, but then why are you sad?" she was being as gentle as she could with the subject.

"Because I am hated." he ran a finger along the blood soaked lines on his forehead "And I am hated because I hate and I hate because…" he waved a hand over his chest.

Starfire tilted her head "but you have waited this long for your markings of sadness, why did you get them now?"

He leaned back "Because I found something that I hate more than the world," at her blank stare he continued "a betrayal and a lie"

Star stared at the tear inked into his skin between his eyes, it was one of the few things that stood out against the seemingly chaotic tribal that covered his entire body, "Who has betrayed you and lied to you?" her eyes flashed green in her anger.

He stared at her and she wilted under his ever shifting shades before saying, not unkindly "I was betrayed by two people I thought I could trust and I was lied to by five" she wilted even further.

"We…we lied to you?" he blinked slowly.

"Yes, you all did." he stood up "we have a visitor" and he changed into a bat before fluttering out the window and landing behind of the newcomer.

* * *

Jinx lifted a hand to knock on the door and let it fall to her side. This wasn't going as well as she hoped. "If you want in all you have to do is knock" a voice behind her sagely spoke and she turned, a retort fast on her lips.

She tried to smile but this wasn't Beast Boy, his body held dried blood all over along with hundreds of thousands of lines. But his eyes were most different, they did not smile, they did not frown, they did not laugh, they did not change. "Ummm, hi. I was wondering if I could stay here…things were getting…weird after Kid Flash and I…umm, quit"

He opened the door and led her to the common room where all the others had gathered. After a moment of seeing their shocked faces he only said "I vote she becomes a Titan" and walked to his room.

He sat in the chair as the scabs across his body protested, his skin had to be punctured extremely deep for the ink to take and now he was feeling it. He opened the green door to his bathroom and stepped into the shower. The water washed away in brown and he hissed as the hot water and soap stung.

His mind wandered as the water washed away his blood until a knock came at the door "Chimera…can I talk to you?" Jinx. He wrapped a towel around his waist before opening the door and going back to the bathroom.

Jinx sat nervously on the chair, she didn't realize he was taking a shower until he opened the door and let her in. She had learned of his name change and what had happened and was more hopeful than ever. If someone who had done those things could do good maybe she could too. From behind the other door Gar called out "You can start now"

She swallowed, maybe this wasn't such a good idea, she let out a long held breath "Vic says that you're one of the best people he knows. Now that you're back on the team I want to know if I can do the same…"

His answer was a simple "What?"

She sighed "I want to know if I can be a good hero, I didn't really do much when I was with KF's team…"

Chimera opened the door and Jinx tried not to stare as the water traced his torso, as he pulled on his shirt he answered "If I didn't think so I wouldn't have told them I wanted you as a Titan. Simple as that. You are much more powerful than you think you are." he motioned her to follow as they walked to the training room. He set a hologram of several villains "Do it" and he started the simulations, she emerged out of breath and bruised. The other Titans had followed them out to the basement. "Again"

Cy stepped forward "Yo' Chi I don't think she can take ano-"

"Again" he said, Jinx nodded and put a hand on Cy's before walking back into the room. She limped out with dozens of small cuts and slid to the ground panting, Gar's eyes held nothing "Again."

Robin stepped forward this time "Chimera, what are you doing! We can't hurt her like this!" he nearly put a hand on Chimera's shoulder but the glare in his teammate's eye reminded him of the threat.

Chimera looked at Jinx, he knelt in front of her and took her hand "Do you want to know?" she nodded and crawled back into the room. He set the simulator much higher. They watched from the window.

Jinx leapt over the attack a holo Gizmo threw at her by leaping onto one of the metal legs and then kicking him in the face before gracefully landing on the floor only to have Mammoth throw her into the wall. Tears filled her eyes and suddenly the simulation was gone. She sighed and stood, eyes down cast "I give up, I failed" much to her surprise someone entered the room.

Chimera took off his jacket and tossed it Cy before closing the door "You'll be up against me. I want to see if you're really as good as I hope"

She wobbled into a fighting stance as he stood perfectly at ease. She waved her arms and slowly advanced, he ducked, leaned, and otherwise avoided the purple waves with ease. As he dodged her last blast she tried to land a kick but was quickly batted away by a gorilla's hand, she quickly recovered with a summersault and stared at him as he quickly shifted to his human form. They fought until she was completely exhausted. As she lay flat on her back huffing and panting at him she groaned "You win, I can't go on" his eyes softened and he slowly helped her up.

He moved her to a chair in the simulator control room "You did well, I'll continue training you if you want" she nodded before slowly falling asleep in the chair "Cy, why don't you take her to the Med Bay" Cy blushed but complied and he walked out leaving Starfire, Robin and Raven in the room with very little idea of what happened.

* * *

Jinx awoke an hour later and was surprised to see Chimera gently bandaging her hands he gave her a sad smile "I'm sorry I was so rough, but I needed to see how powerful you are at this point"

She nervously tugged on her shirt with her free hand "What do you mean 'at this point'?"

He smeared some ointment on a burn on her forearm "Your power is ridiculous, you pretty much change the flow of the universe" she stared at him in blatant disbelief "You can change anything, where a pin falls, if a nail can hold half a gram less than it should, if a star should fall ten degrees in another direction. You can change that"

She sighed as the cool paste took the fire from the wound "Can I ask you something?" he nodded while wrapping a length of cloth on the burn "What happened?"

He put the tube back in the first-aid kit and pulled out a bottle of peroxide "What happened when?"

She wondered if this was a good idea "after you left the team…"

He didn't say anything for awhile, he finished treating her and put all the medicines away before sitting on the other bed "alright, if that's what you want we can talk. First let's get one thing straight, I didn't leave I got kicked off. I wandered around for a while, I didn't know what to do with myself. I thought about suicide" she gasped quietly, he wasn't the type of guy who even _looked_ at suicide "I thought maybe if I got out of town things would go better. So I walked to Gotham"

She cut in quietly "Walked?"

He nodded "Cheaper than a plane ticket, train and not to mention I don't have a license. It wasn't bad only a month's walk." he started tapping his now tattooed knuckles "have you heard _A Lanternman's Tale_?" she shook her head and he handed her a battered book

"_A Lanternman wait's a Lanternman's call_

_For Lanternman's dark is darkness for all_

_Without Lanternman's light the children did bawl_

_For Lanternman's darkness did everywhere fall._

_And Lanternmen greeted them at Lanternman's Hall_

_With Lanternmen tall and Lanternmen Small_

_Where Lanternman die and Lanternmen crawl_

_And Lanternmem shelter with lanternman walls._

_And Lanternmen fell and Lanternmen fade_

_With Lanternmen's wall and Lanternmen's glade_

_For Lanternmen's life did Lanternmen laid_

_And Lanternmen's wish did Lanternmen made._

_With Lanternmen gone and Lanternmen dead_

_The Lanternmen's soul to darkness was led_

_Lanternmen begged and Lanternmen pled_

_But Lanternmen's soul filled with Lanternman's dread,_

_And Lanternmen fell where Lanternmen bled."_

As he finished reciting she looked at the book, without any wording on the front she opened it to find what he had said in faint perfect handwriting. "it's been called the saddest story. It's about the Lanternmen, a group of people who lit the way to keep others safe. One by one they died until only one remained. He wandered the Earth searching for his kinsmen until he found each of their bones. One hundred and eight men for one hundred and eight bones. He journeyed to the Underworld to beg for the souls. He was told to forever light the Entrance to the afterlife, a cave so wide and deep that the sun could never fully brighten it. He gathered each of the Lanternmen's lights and set them in the cave. He picked up his own light to hold it to the world and has never let it fall. all that remains is a skeleton holding his one hundred and nine lanterns for the souls of the lost."

Jinx looked at him before staring at her feet "That's a terribly sad poem, but I don't see how it explains what happened"

Chimera stood up and walked to the sink and dabbed a few bleeding spots with the washrag "Once you do something you have to stay the course. The Lanternman waits for all eternity so he can be with the others. I couldn't stop once the deed was started. I got to Gotham and found nothing there for me. I stayed only because I wouldn't have to see her…"

Jinx looked at her friend "Her?" she felt her concern for the changeling grow.

"Her. I fell in love with a woman who I knew would never return the feeling. She lived in Jump but I always ended up seeing her. I tried to move on but I really couldn't. then one day I passed in front of a tattoo parlor, I didn't realize what was happening until somebody threw me in an ally, it was a robber. He rushed at me with a knife and I threw him over my head and behind me. He landed on a pile of shingles from a building they were remodeling. The nails killed him. For a long time I sat there in a mix of sorrow and guilt. At some point I remember crying and throwing up. Next thing I know I was in the tattoo parlor that was across the street. It was a man named Dave, he explained to me quite a bit. My parents were some of the best geneticists in the world, they took me to places like the Amazon, Mexico, but in Africa I got a disease. Nobody had survived before but my parents managed to make a 'antidote' the side affects made me what I am."

He sighed "After that we met with something worse than death. We were on a research boat when a cartel saw us. They managed to leap on and they slit my dad's throat. They raped my mom until they put two bullets in her. They did worse to me" Jinx stared with eyes wide in horror "After that I somehow managed to crawl my way to a village. Then the Doom patrol got me. But Dave was part of this cartel. He had been chasing me for years trying to find me to give himself…I don't know, some sort of absolution. But he took care of me until I could talk. He told me that the cartel was in Gotham. I started hunting. The ones I killed hadn't changed, all but Dave, they were still doing what they did in Africa and I killed them all. Then I turned myself in."

Jinx saw tears running down his face "W-why are you telling me?"

He gave her the best smile he could. It was pathetic, small and sadder than any frown he could have given. "Because you haven't lied to me, all the others have. And you asked. Sorry for rambling" he stood up and walked out.

Jinx looked to the dark corner "Raven, you can come out now…I take it he was talking about you?" the dark psychic nodded and the two of them walked to the common room just in time to hear Robin try to scold Chimera.

"You went too far, what if she got hurt!"

Chimera stared at Robin until the masked one started to get fidgety "Look, her power essentially fucks the universe, she has more potential than any of us. I can't train her without putting her in danger. Do you know what I did to train?" Robin shuddered and shook his head "Consider yourself lucky, if you had to go through what I did you probably wouldn't have your sanity." he walked off to his room leaving the other five in the Commons with their thoughts.

* * *

Raven stared at the wall with a sense of unholy knowing. She walked down the hall to his door before knocking. The door slid only a fraction of an inch until she could only see one eye gazing down at her indifferently "What do you want?"

She gazed back at it "Open up, I need to talk to you"

The door slid open and she took a seat in the chair while he leaned against the bookshelves that lined his wall two tall ones and two shorter ones between that sat just under the window. "Okay, you're here, talk" his voice wasn't rude but it didn't want her dancing around the point either.

She watched him cross his arms "You told Star you were lied to and betrayed. I want to know what happened."

His eyes still held no emotion "Why?"

She hesitated "I…I want to fix it, I know you don't want to see me-"

He cut her off with a slashing motion "Enough" that one word chilled her to the bone with it's emptiness "You want nothing to do with this topic, that I assure you"

Her voice was sharp "How can I fix it if I don't know?"

He grinned, no, bared his teeth would have been more appropriate "You. Won't."

She hissed back "Don't be a coward!"

His eyes had held no emotion. Now he was angry "Coward? How am I the coward here? I confessed what I felt even though you lied and said you loved no one, let me tell you a secret, I know you love Robin. I don't care. Everyone that was on the team at the time lied to me. But you and Robin betrayed me. You can't fix it because you don't want to." he growled and she stood up abruptly before storming out.

Jinx watched Raven stomp to her room followed by a trail of words no sane person would have said. She hopped off the couch and waited for the curses to die down before knocking "Raven, it's Jinx, I know you're upset but I want to help…" Jinx really was a nice girl.

Raven allowed the door to slide open and the other metahuman slowly walked in. Raven stared at the wall with disgust written on her features "What do you want Jinx?"

The girl stared at her darker counterpart for a moment "I want to help"

The other's monotone was broken with rage "Help with what?"

Jinx walked over to the bed where Raven sat and rubbed small soothing circles on her back, "I want to help you with Chimera. Maybe I can see something since I'm not directly involved. I just want to help."

Raven sighed "Alright, It's a bit of a story so might as well settle in…"

* * *

Jinx listened to Raven tell the story until the sun dipped behind the city, she told of how she found out about Gar's love and why he never said anything and her lie that he saw through. She told the enchantress of her feelings about the entire thing.

Jinx looked thoughtful " So you're in love with Robin?" Raven nodded but something else played along her face "But you don't see Chimera as just another friend now do you?" Raven didn't say anything and Jinx continued " Well, as I see it there's only one thing to do"

Raven looked at the pinkette with some trepidation "And what would that be?"

The other shook her head "I'll get it set up for you, don't worry." and walked out of the room.

The sorceress felt a shudder go through her as all her emotions yelled as one "MAYDAY GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!" only Rage said something else and it was simply "I've got a bad feeling about this…"

* * *

Jinx watched as Chimera continued to work on the computer, the moon had fallen and the sun not yet risen. He hadn't slept, he spent the hours staring at every bit of information that the Titans had collected over the Chimera copy-cat killer. She had woken up on accident, she wanted some water and had stepped out to grab a glass when the light stopped her. She crawled back to her bed and thought about what she could do to help. She genuinely liked the green man and the dark woman, and the part of her that cooed squealed how cute they would be together. She shrugged and curled into a ball as she dreamt about a certain cyborg.

* * *

It was past noon when the group stood around him as he swiveled the computer chair to face them, bags stood out prominently against his green skin "There isn't one killer. There are two"

Robin stared at the two nearly identical pictures on the screens "How can you tell?"

Chimera turned around and zoomed in on the wounds themselves "This one was made by a modified bear trap, they heated the metal and pressed the jaws together forming a deeper bite, this one was made by a creature that bears a striking resemblance to the chimera almost as if a cousin. And I know who that one is."

Raven scowled "Adonis"

The jade man nodded before turning back to the screen "This one is different. The entire scene is set up as if I did it myself…" the others shuddered at the lack of importance as he tapped his chin "These cases can wait, they might have started in an attempt to get me out of prison…they slowed down after I got out but Adonis seemed to go into overdrive. The last two days since I've been out he's killed fourteen."

Robin punched his open palm "Alright, we'll go out tonight and see if we can't find him and take him down! Be ready at 11, he seems to hunt late at night."

They other nodded before walking away leaving Cyborg and Gar at the computer terminal, as the latter started to shut down the machine Cyborg asked a question lightly "So what happened to the Beast? I haven't heard you talk about it for a while now…"

Chimera lifted one eyebrow "What do ya' mean, you saw it last time we fought…" as his friend shook his head he explained "The Chimera is the Beast." and the changeling gave a dry smile.

Cy nodded before speaking again hesitantly "…Star told us we lied to you…what did I lie about?" Gar stared at his friend who had desperation laced in his voice and pain in his eyes "I really want to fix it. I want to be your friend again…"

Chi slowly stood up before gripping the metal man on the shoulder "You lied about how you felt about me back on the team. You were scared and angry, why didn't you say so?" Cy shook his head and the jade morphling waited before continuing "By just saying you want to fix it you have. You were the only one who wanted me to stay on the team that night" Cyborg flinched but stared in shock as Gar gave a bright smile "Honestly? You've always been my friend, from the first day we met to right now. My only true friend" Gar patted his friend's shoulder before walking out of the room to get some sleep for the long night he knew was coming.

* * *

Jinx stared at a picture from years before, Robin stood in the center with Raven and Starfire floating in the top corners while Gar and Cy sat beside the leader. She stared at Gar's eyes. Something wasn't right, they didn't give the same feel as Cyborg's or Starfire's. she moved to a picture of Chimera. One where he didn't have any emotion on his face as he stared somewhat sadly at the camera, he had the same eyes. They had always been sad.

Cyborg opened the door "You called, Jinx?"

She handed him the two pictures "there's one thing the same in both these pictures, can you see it?"

He stared at the two for a while "Chimera's eyes. Their the same in both pictures…but why do you have me staring at another guys eyes?" he sounded a bit down trodden.

The pink haired girl giggled and smiled "How did your talk with Chimera go?"

Cy gave a small smile "It went better than I thought it would, I can't win against him" she laughed and rubbed her nose against the metal man's who blushed and smiled back.

* * *

Raven sat in Nevermore watching Knowledge and Happy argue with Intelligence, Rage and Affection. This odd sight was triggered by one simple question "How do I deal with Chimera?" the other emotions had their own input but really didn't want to be beaten by the top five in this argument.

In a cosmic sense of Irony (Who was in a shade of peach under the tree with a large smirk) Knowledge and Intelligence were being held back by Happy and Affection respectively while Rage stood in between with her red cloak billowing "**STOP NOW!**" the sudden stillness in her mind caused Raven to reel back. Rage hissed out "All of you are acting like the emotions of a three year old Tameranean!" the others ducked their heads, chastised. She put her hand on her hips "Now, get your asses in **GEAR!**" the others bolted to the circle of rocks and Raven stood in the middle. This was something they did only when Raven asked a question that could change her entire emotional world.

Happiness started "I don't think we need to treat him any differently, he still confuses me" she scratched her head and motioned to the next rock.

All but Rage, Timid, Knowledge and Intelligence said the same thing.

Knowledge scowled "We need to treat him the same way we have, we have no need to change simply because he told us he holds affections for us."

Intelligence growled in retort "We need to treat him better. He told us his soul and showed us his memories" Nevermore darkened for a moment as the scene burned their minds "We have lied to him. Not to mention that we were the only one he did not attack when he transformed two years ago."

Rage sighed, she hated it when other emotions stole her thunder "I say we do something none of you thought of" they waited with bated breath before Rage continued "Don't piss him off! He didn't kill us because he was in love with us. And none of you jackasses can tell if he still is in love with us. For once I have to agree with smartass over here" she pointed to Intelligence "not because we don't know how we feel but because I want to live thank you very much" she spat.

Timid gathered herself and stood as everyone looked at her, her gray cloak twisted and brightened until it his a near white and she shouted out "I LOVE HIM!" and she warped away as quickly as she could leaving the others in shock.

A knock pulled her out of her thoughts and back into her room, Robin spoke through the door "Raven you ready for patrol?"

She stepped out and soon they moved around in the shadows of Jump City.

* * *

Two weeks later an alarm went off, a vault that held a museum exhibit was broken into and the Titans rushed to the scene to find Gizmo and Mammoth standing out on the street. They stared at Jinx who stared back until Chimera stepped forward "I believe I told you that if I saw you again there would be consequences"

The fifteen year old screamed "You can't stop us you stupid cock-suckers!" and powered up his wings which were promptly shot down by Cyborg's cannon.

Chimera shrugged "You've gotten more vulgar since you got out" and the others walked forward a few steps leaving him at the back.

A whistled sounded and his ear flicked and the others turned as they heard a _slikch_. They turned to see Chimera with arms outstretched to block the path of seven knives, the blades had pierced his arms, two in each while three were embedded in his back. He pulled them out before turning and grimacing slightly "Hello Adonis, I've been looking for you" his voice started to get an earthier tone as he growled "you conniving, sadistic, egotistical sonofabit-" and a loud mechanical roar tore through the night and through his chest with a beam of bright white light that echoed across the city.

He staggered around to see Dr. Light with a burnt out light cannon in his hands. Chimera growled and coughed up blood even as his torso was soaked with the crimson life. The blackened bone hissed as drops of blood fell against the superheated shards, most of his organs, clearly visible against the burnt green skin stopped functioning as his lungs and heart visibly rushed trying to compensate for the trauma. He staggered forward and coughed up more blood as his body went into overdrive trying to keep him alive. Every breath was a hissing cough as his body started to give up. Everyone there watched in morbid fascination as he took a trembling step. His body could barely support itself as he made his way over to Light. Frozen in place they leapt into action as the bleeding morphling smashed his fist weakly into Light. The Titans rushed over to see their friend fall. in the middle of his torso was a gaping hole. At the edges his heart and lungs could be seen. Or rather what remained of them, his spine was the only thing in the area that survived the blast, yet not even that was intact, in places the bone was gone leaving the dangling red string like nerves and where it did survive it was blackened and melted, the liquid bone fell onto the street and solidified into solid white globs.

He let out a rough growl "Ge…Get…Away" and his limbs started to tremble as his skin started to rip and his body twisted. Jinx and Raven pulled the others away, with their links to the magic of the world they could feel a primal shift. His body was taking in huge amounts of pure energy and twisting his body. His lower body flipped so that his knees were on the ground as he still laid on his back. Ice built up around him as blood that he shouldn't have had soaked his back making a lake. His teeth cracked as they grew and his head jerked around it was facing the ground. With a harsh howl the ground around him turned thick and viscous like mud. Everyone rushed away as the swamp like road stretched out. They looked up to see the true Chimera. Every time they had believed they had seen it's true form could not prepare them for this.

In the back of his mind Gar realized that this same street was where they had left him. Where Beast Boy had died. Then the world turned to white darkness.

What stood in front of them was something out of a nightmare. The gray fur was matted and covered with mud and blood as it hid the bones that could be numbered under the armored skin. The creature was mortally thin, as if one moment could kill it if it wasn't eating. Each claw was a tool of terror and destruction, the dark yellow color spoke of time covered in gore and as each jagged edge cut into the hardened street below like a hot knife through snow the once hard material shifted into mud. It's long bony tail stood high above the tops of the buildings of downtown Jump. But it's head was the most terrifying. The creatures face was scarred from thousands of weapons, it's ears had holes where they had been pierced by terrifyingly powerful weapons. The left was missing a large chunk from the side and a spear was impaled on it and a hammer dangled off the end, almost as if a trophy. It's face was marred by thousands of slashes that centered between it's gigantic eyes, redder than blood and filled with a hatred and rage that made the piece of Raven's father that still lived in her fail. It's teeth were too many and too large to fit in it's mouth, leaving them sticking out and forming a trap of rust colored death. It took two steps forward and where it touched the ground the earth was covered in blood ice.

It stared at the nine before letting out a howl that twisted and tainted the air and caused the moon to shudder in fear. As it moved forward and warped the very fabric of the world it took in huge quantities of magic and Raven and Jinx pulled the Titans and the two former H.I.V.E. member with them. Adonis and Light stood on the other side of The Chimera. A fluttering ribbon fell towards the Titans, Raven picked up the silver length and Jinx gasped "that looks like…Gleipnir"

Raven stared at her "And you would know that how?

Jinx pointed to the ribbon "use your senses" Raven's magic wrapped around it and she dropped it immediately.

Raven picked it up and folded it into her pocket "I-If that's true than that means that he's…"

Jinx realized it at the same time "O-Odin's bane…" and the both blanched as a being beyond Trigon finished physically manifesting on their planet. And there was nothing they could do about it.

Fenris snarled at the nine before glaring at the two who had hurt him. With a voice of ice and rot it opened it's teeth "**Jeg vil drepe deg**" with a swipe of ragged death Dr. Light flew into the air with legs ripped from his body. With a dull crunch his pain was over. Adonis stared in shock as Fenris stared at him with an unholy grin as tooth ground against tooth in a demonic symphony. "**Jeg elendige kopier**" Adonis shifted into his beast form trying to run. Until his legs iced over. The blood ice was met with more blood as the giant wolf shrunk down to the size of the Beast before slowly devouring Adonis alive. The others stood in shock as Adonis' screams slowly fell to whimpers before being silenced forever behind teeth the size of nuclear missiles. Fenris let out a howl that shattered glass before turning his hateful gaze on the seven who stood in front of him.

The ribbon in Raven's hand wrenched itself free before wrapping around Fenris' muzzle and tightening as the beast thrashed more and more. Soon blood ran off as he tried to snarl and his own teeth pierced the room of his mouth and the bottom of his jaw. Jinx's eyes glowed a park pink before she turned to Raven "BLOCK HIM!" as the other looked at her lost she explained as quickly as she could "He's drawing in energy to sustain his transformation, cutting off the supply should force him back!"

With an orb of black energy around the huge beast he slowly started to crack and break back into a human shape. Every wound he had ever taken opened and blood once again pooled below him. Soon he was in a coma-like state with a body wrapped in bandages. The monstrous hole in his chest still sat agape as Cyborg anchored a clear glass dome over it before hooking it up to the Tower's power supply "We've got to keep the area clean but he's regenerating everything, heart, lungs, nerves…everything that got damaged ever is being replaced. The only thing we can do is wait for him to wake up and get better…"

* * *

With Gizmo and Mammoth back in jail the Titans had met in Med Bay to talk about this newest discovery. Robin stared at the Chimera "alright, does anyone know what happened?"

Raven shook her head "I didn't expect an Old God to come out. Even how he got it, is controlling it or that it's even here is a mystery."

Starfire leaned over "Friends, please explain this 'Old God' to me, I am unfamiliar with it"

Robin nodded as Cy said "Yeah, what do you mean by 'Old God' is it some type of demon?"

Jinx shook her head "Old Gods are exactly what they sound like, Gods that people worshiped, think Zeus, Aries and those type of things. He became Fenris, a wolf god out of Norse myth. It's a creature that killed Odin, the king of the gods…"

While the others spoke she walked over to the nearly dead man and does something she thought she should have done a long time ago.

* * *

As she fell into his mind she murmured "I should have done this when he got here, not waited two weeks…" a normal mind is just a library with one care taker. Her mind was structured differently because of her heritage and her powers. His was very different than either.

His mind-scape was an enormous field with an everlasting sunset painting the clouds blood red, a truly huge bonsai shaded the four figures beneath it. As she landed two of the four sat up, the first was Fenris and the other was the Beast. One of the figures she couldn't see spoke in a calm level voice "Forgive their manners, Fenris and Instinct are only following their natures. Much like your emotions follow theirs"

Fenris looked almost like a different wolf, almost, his fur was cleaned and his teeth and claws were perfect and polished. His scars and eyes remained and he growled lightly as the Beast, now renamed Instinct sniffed around her. She walked closer to the tree and saw one of the other two now. It was Gar, well it was _like_ Gar, around his mouth sat tattoos, around the right side of his mouth it was a smile then it switched to a gaping sad mouth. His clothes were all colors and he gave a tight smile "Hi, my name's Emotion…" then he stormed away and the person on the other side of the tree sighed and sat up.

"Pardon his manners, at the present you are a mystery to us and we do not know if we are willing to…ignore this fact" he scoffed lightly before he walked out of the shadow "Where are my manners, my name is Restraint" he held out a hand "How do you do?" he stepped out and she looked at him with mild shock, he was dressed in the red robes much like those of a Tibetan monk. His face held no emotions as he lead her slowly down the gentle hill that the tree topped "a thousand pardons but that place is meant only for us four. However I can greet you properly in my home."

Raven walked behind him in stunned silence until they entered his home, a small home with four rooms, two bed rooms, a kitchen living area and a bathroom, all of which were modest to say the least. "Y-you said you were…Restraint?" he nodded as he poured two cups of tea into bowls identical to the one Chimera had in his cell "What are you restraining?"

He led her to a set of cushions "I restrain everything, emotion, instinct and the other things, in essence I restrain Garfield." he took a sip of his tea and sighed. "Then my I ask why you are here Miss Raven?"

She took a sip and copied his appreciative sigh "I came to see what happed, how he managed to change into…the_ him_ from last night"

Restraint gave a small smile "You are worried, no?"

She murmured "Yes"

With a wave of his hand the old kettle floated over and he poured her another bowl "And why are you worried, Garfield is alive and recovering, Fenris is back here peacefully residing, Unless you are worried about Garfield's mental state I can see no reason why you are upset"

Raven stared at Restraint for a moment "You're Chimera…well, him now…"

The emotionless emotion slowly set his bowl down "we are much like you but we are also very different, you see you separated your emotions to separate your powers. Garfield separated us out of a need to detach himself to do what must be done."

She gave a half-hearted glare "You mean kill those people"

He nodded "Indeed, but he did so differently than you. Your emotions hold your power while Garfield's are based on himself as a whole. He tore his emotions away, you yourself have only placed barriers between you and your emotions. As you are well aware instincts balance emotions, the lower thoughts balance the higher and thus Instinct was separated as well. That left only Fenris who could not be allowed to roam free. Thus I was created to hold them all back. In a sense I am the head of this small family and thus the one closest to Garfield's center and the most expressed"

Raven took another sip of her tea and finally came to a basic question "When did all of this happen?" she waved a hand to the room.

The control leaned back in his chair and pulled a bare foot onto his knee "You must forgive me, since we were separated when Garfield was mature we suffered from disorientation and the period of our 'birth' is hazy" he tapped his lip for a moment "We were conceived when Garfield was removed from the team. We were given awareness when he arrived in Gotham. Except for Fenris, he has been alive much longer, but as an independent spirit rather than a part of us"

She stared at Restraint "So can I speak with the others?"

Restraint closed his eyes "You could indeed, for I would not stop you, but I do suggest very strongly that you keep your distance. They are in the middle of a 'spar'"

She asked cautiously "why should I keep my distance?"

He tapped himself lightly on the chest "It is a spar without restraint…"

She stood "Can you take me?"

He gave the small smile again "Of course" and he lead her onward. Past the hill with the tree they came to a desert, stones and sand covered the landscape until a large circle of rocks indicated the arena. Emotion, Instinct and Fenris tore at each other with claws and tooth and fist and nail until the once golden sand was painted dark red. As they charged each other they had bloodthirsty grins. Instinct pulled on Fenris' tail and Emotion, who was the human-like Chimera form that he had shown in Gotham, thrust his claws into Instinct's back while Fenris latched onto Emotion's leg.

Restraint sat facing away from the group "If you wish to speak it will have to wait. Shall we sit and speak until they are through?"

She slowly sat facing the trio in silence. Emotion broke away first and walked towards Restraint, blatantly ignoring her, "Yo, boss! When's our boy here gonna' wake up?"

Restraint looked up above him to the hovering face "He should be waking up soon. Do not worry, he shall be as he was"

Emotion grimaced "Why'd you have to bring her?"

The other blinked "Does she not have a large investment in you?" the other nodded while Raven sat silently "Then I only wish you to talk. As much as I like existence I would much rather be where we were before"

Emotion had a far away look on his face before he stomped over "Follow me" he hissed before skipping away. Raven turned to Restraint who nodded and she followed.

* * *

His home was much like Restraint's only painted in a multitude of spiraling colors and pictures, some were happy, others sad, some filled with love others dark enough to scare her. He went to a fridge and pulled out a beer and a soda "Which one do you want?" his voice reminded her of Brave.

"Soda, I'm not even legal…and neither are you"

Emotion turned flirty before grinning at her. "Babe, in here we can do things that are illegal on every planet" his voice made her flush and look down at the floor. He sighed as he watched her stare at the tile "I'm…unstable. I'm every emotion at once, I'm happy, sad, angry, rude…don't worry about offending me"

Raven stared for a moment "You're…at once?"

He leaned back smoothly against the fridge "Yup! That's why I'm switching between so many extremes." he took a deep drink of the chilled beer "So, is there any emotion you'd feel more comfortable talking to?"

She sat in one of the two recliners "Happy? No, he'd be too hyper and I wouldn't get anything out of him…" after going on like that for quite some time she finally came to Timid "No, he'd just apologizes and be of no help"

Emotions held up a finger "Not so fast, Timid might be the best option, here he wouldn't be quite as scared" and several orbs of different colors flew into another room leaving Emotion dressed in all gray and shy eyes. He sputtered out "S-so w-what did you want to talk about?"

She didn't roll her eyes, this Timid was much braver than her own, maybe the place really did help. "Restraint said I was a mystery, what did he mean?"

Timid seemed to perk up since they weren't talking about him "W-well, you've been mean to us…but at times you can be nice…we really don't like that you love Robin…y-you're just too unknown for us…" he twiddled his thumbs as she let out a breath.

Raven asked a question that her own Rage and Timid were wondering , along with all the others"…Does Gar-do you still love me?"

Timid shrugged "I-I don't know" he whimpered "please don't hate me…"

The dark lady sighed "Then can I talk to Love?"

"H-he won't be of much help" came the reply.

"And why's that?" she countered with raised brow.

"B-Because he l-loves everything…"Timid's pale skin held a blush at the thought of love. She sighed, he really was timid personified.

"Then who should I ask?" he shrugged helplessly and cowered behind the beer can still in his hand. "Call out …Knowledge" one of the orbs from the other room rushed into the gray clad man and a silvery ball of energy bolted to the other room as the Chimera in front of her was now clad in yellow. She stared at him for a moment, were his eyes always that shifting green? Clearing her throat she coughed "You heard the question?"

The yellow man nodded before leaning back in the chair and touching the beer can which changed into a champagne flute and he took a sip before sighing "It's not a simple question, unlike every other person on this planet" a thin gray remote magically appeared in his hand and he pressed a few buttons and Black Sabbath's self titled song started playing softly

_What is this that stands before me?_

_Figure in black which points at me_

He smiled and hummed along with a few chords while Raven pondered the question the line gave, what _really_ stood before her? Knowledge started again "As I said, we are different than all other people. We did love you once, but being snubbed and lied to as we were was…unpleasant. I do not know if we are in love with you now. There are two people who serve as indicators for that. One is Rage and the other is Fenris."

The dark psychic started at the words "Then…could I talk to Rage?"

This time the orb was, predictably, red and the same change happened, only this time the flute turned into a bottle of vodka and the music turned into _Every Rope a Noose_ by The Black Dahlia Murder. He took a deep swig and snarled "What do you want?" she realized that it was an act. Rage was beyond tired, the tired anger she could deal with.

"I have some questions…" he rolled his eyes "First I want to know if you love me"

He snarled softly "Don't open this can of worms, woman, I doubt you know half of what you're getting into"

She put a hand on his arm "Then enlighten me"

The red emotions rubbed his eyes lightly "We don't love like normal people, that's part of the problem…if you want more, talk to the wolf…it's his fault anyways"

She gulped "C-could you please take me?" he rolled his eyes and with a flash of light all the orbs rushed into the room.

He smiled and skipped a few feet and turned with a scowl before brightly saying "Follow me, you back-stabbing bitch!" and walking away leaving her stunned and a little annoyed.

* * *

Fenris was under the tree and he silently led her away and out of Emotions hair. They stopped at a magnificent cave, it reminded her of a book. She tapped her chin lightly until the wolf snapped her out of her thoughts with a quite but heavy "Yes?"

"Oh, nothing, it reminds me of something out of a book…but I can't remember which one"

"_A Lanterman's Tale, _the entrance to the Afterlife…Garfield got his inspiration from this place"

She snorted "What? Are you saying that Garfield wrote that?" he nodded and she ended with a simple "oh".

She watched as he let out a small bark and Instinct walked out on all fours, he gave a rough approximation of a smile and wandered off. Fenris led her in to a cave with a large comfortable rug covering every inch and a large book shelf.

The wolf lead her to a corner and from the darkness pulled a chair. Once she was comfortable he sat down on the carpet "So what did you want to speak to me about?" she hadn't realized it but he had a faint accent.

She repeated her question "Is Garfield in love with me…and honestly I don't know why I'm asking you"

He gave a rough approximation of a smile "I suppose you spoke to Rage?"

She nodded "But he didn't answer or even explain why I needed to ask him"

The wolf lowered his eyes "This is my…fault. You see, Garfield's emotions were separated because when he decided to kill those people he couldn't take the pain…because I am bound to him. I'm a personification of rage, even more so than your emotion. When he took me in it bound my emotions to his, and they went haywire, his happy would out laugh Happy, his shyness could out run Timid and his anger could scare your father out of life itself. It was bad, but as such we share emotions only I can truly feel them. That would be why you needed to talk to me."

She leaned on the arm for a moment "And my first question?"

Fenris growled at his feet "Yes, damnably so"


	3. thirst

Sorry this one took so long, it gave me more trouble than I would have liked. anyways, hope you enjoy the end!

* * *

Raven stared at the wolf and felt an odd twitch in her own emotions "I need to get out of here…how do I do that?"

The Demon stood up "Since you're not part of Garfield you have to go through the Hall…" he grimaced as he spoke and they walked out of the cave and walked away from the mountain range that held the homes for the parts of Gar.

Raven put a hand on the wolf who growled and she removed it "You don't sound happy about this hall"

The wolf stopped "It is the Hall of Hate, it is the most horrid place I've ever been in" she gulped as the thought of something that could make the wolf admit that. The stopped at a door, one that she had seen in the tower a thousand times. The door to Garfield's room. He muttered "Godspeed" and bounded off, away from the door.

She pressed her palm to it and walked into the black portal that had opened.

* * *

The first thing that registered as she entered the odd hall was the silence, a lack of sound that made her feel uncomfortable, the walls were splashed with blood and the near overwhelming stench caused her to retch and cover her nose with her cloak. As she walked down the hall something stopped her. On her left was Garfield hanging from a noose, as she beheld the terror the dead Chimera spoke "I hate myself for my ignorance, if I hadn't I would never have made the mistakes I did" it's voice was a cruel mockery of what it should have been, she turned away and the voice stopped. She ran down the hall and saw another, this one was crucified with Robin's mask on his face "I hate him because he has her love, he never worked for it, yet he enjoys it. I bled for it, died for it and I have nothing, to her I'm nothing more than a thorn. I hate her because I'm always trying and yet she still doesn't see me, I have no hope with her and anger fills my belly. But most of all I hate myself for hating them" she ran and yet each one of these dying men screamed how he hated himself, millions of men, more than the stars in the sky or grains of sand on earth.

His hatred was a poison. It dripped off the walls, evaporated from pools on the floor and filling the air with it's noxious fumes that reached the ceiling and fell like tendrils of blood as it bloomed into flowers of insanity revealing another man dying.

No matter how far she ran the hall never ended. She fell to her knees panting harshly in the near silence of the hall. One voice was crueler than the rest, a little child spoke to her as he covered his eyes with his hands "I hate myself for being born, if I had never been born they would never have gotten on that boat. If I was never born then those around me wouldn't have to suffer. If I wasn't born I wouldn't have to punish myself, then I hate myself more because I hate my weakness." she picked up the little child and dropped him in shock, he had clawed his own eyes out. The child screamed and it pierced the deepest part of her psyche and burned her into darkness.

* * *

Raven woke up to growling and Cyborg trying to calm something down, the warm breath felt good against her cold skin. She opened her eyes to see what was happening. She had been laying on the floor until Chimera in the smaller version of the Wolf had picked her up by the back of her cloak and the others stood several feet away trying to calm him down enough that they could reach her. She pressed a palm to the creatures cheek "Instinct, it's okay, they don't want to hurt either of us"

He slowly set her down and stepped back before his eyes glazed over and he collapsed as his mostly healed wounds wept blood at an alarming rate. Raven pressed her hands into his chest and four glowing eyes appeared as she tapped into all her emotions to mend Chimera. Inside her head things were getting more and more hectic as she pressed more and more energy into his body and watched as muscles stitched themselves together. She moved him to back to the bed as Cy pushed the other two out.

Cy stared at her not unkindly but it held a certain amount of anger "So now that you broke into his mind what are you going to do?"

Raven frowned "I don't know, but I feel I need to apologize" and with that she walked off.

* * *

As she stepped into Nevermore everything was chaos, Rage was throwing up while Timid patted her back and held her hair out of the way as she heaved over the edge of the rock, Lust sat on a patch of grass with a self-satisfied smirk as two loves battled it out, one had on a very distinctive mask while the other was normal. As they screamed at each other Lust floated over "It's rather simple. Just take them both!" both Loves started chasing the laughing Lust.

Raven paled before rubbing Rage's back, the red emotion let out a haggard grunt before spilling out over the edge again. She turned to the gray one "What's happening?"

Timid shrugged and Rage managed to speak "It's Chimera's hate, it's too strong." the red one shook as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand "it's poisoning, I can't resonate with it enough to keep it from doing this to me" she was cut short as she dry heaved.

Cyborg's voice pulled her out of Nevermore "Rae…he's up"

* * *

Chimera's eyes opened to see the world of dim lights and stark whiteness that even if the lights were off would be blinding. His body was swaddled in miles of bandages. Every scratch he had ever gotten had opened that night. Now he was mostly healed. He spun until his bare feet hit the tile and the doors hissed open. Raven stopped as Chimera stood up, when he had gotten injured his clothing had been ruined and Cyborg wrapped his body in bandages, now those white strips were loose giving Raven a startling view of his body. His transformation into Fenris had ripped apart his timeline and every scratch he had ever gotten became etched into his skin as a scar, now she could see why he had always worn such covered clothes. His body was crossed with so much injury that his skin was eclipsed by the tissue and yet his hands interested her. His green hands had pad-like calluses and a small slit in the tip of his fingers, she glided over and grasped his and pressed lightly on the tips of his finger and watched a claw unsheathe, the black claw slid through her finger without her even feeling the talon shred her own muscle. He pulled his hand away and Raven hissed in pain until he pulled the ripped finger towards him, his tongue slid out of his mouth and lapped at the wound that healed in front of her eyes. He stepped past her and out of the room leaving a shocked Raven staring at a back that had no right to be among the living.

He walked out of the Med bay and to his room where his own clothes replaced the strips of linen, as leather slid over the carbon fiber he clenched his now gloved hand and watched the sun fall before stepping out to try to find the final Chimera based killer.

He opened his window and leapt onto the sill before his door opened, Raven stepped in and he turned to look at her before leaping off. She raced and threw her head out the window to see a green owl wing it's way towards the city, now lit only by the street lamps. She leaned back and sighed "Nevermore's going to be busy today"

* * *

Chimera walked down the alley with a aloofness that blocked out the copious amounts of blood that stuck to his boots as he plowed through them, the occasional smack of a cold body against the bricks and the stench of rot that had started to overshadow this place. He stood in front of the butcher who turned and hugged him with a cry of "Oh! Your most Holiness, I didn't know you were coming! I would have cleaned up!" the woman let out an insane giggle before rushing off leaving Chimera in a concentrated state, her stench was familiar but he couldn't call it's name.

His walk to the tower was peaceful and quite, all the honest citizens of Jump were asleep while the not so honest knew what he could do and wisely chose to stay away. As he walked by the evidence room the scent caught his nose. He pressed into the room and hunted through the thousands of boxes until he had pulled the reeking offender from it's spot and pried open the top.

A bottle of a cloudy white fluid and a syringe. He checked the label: _Killer Moth, serum 11-27- causes rapid degradation of higher thinking facilities and increased strength, continual use may result in insanity_. He stood up and walked to the terminal and entered the database. There, he pin pointed the location and walked to the common room where everybody was sitting gathered around the TV. They appeared much happier without him. He jotted down on a sticky note his message and silently walked out, leaving the others to their joy. Emotion was filled with fury as the others laughed while he had to sit in his own confinement, yet he couldn't hate what Beast Boy had done. From the time he was forced to leave until he met Fenris he was insane, pain and loss had shattered his mind and his body leaving him nothing that he could truly call his own. Then that wolf had fixed him. Emotion wondered briefly if it had been a disservice before he walked down to find Instinct, his closest brother howling in sorrow at the moon.

Chimera morphed into a bat and flew over the dark streets of the city before landing at the warehouse. His knuckles sounded against the door tree times before he took a step back. Venom splashed out the door and Fang crawled out until he saw Chimera who grated out "If you tell me where to find your murdering girlfriend or why she's doing it I won't rip off your legs"

Fang slashed with the arachnid legs and hissed "What makes you think you can make me?!" soon after he would wish he didn't ask. Chimera would take out only a small fraction of his ever expanding anger but to the mutant it would be like God shattering an ant.

Before Fang could move Chimera stepped on a leg, between the last joint and the tip and pressed through until the exoskeleton gave way and the leg shattered leaving sickening green ichors and a screaming Fang "Now tell me and I will leave" Fang spat on Chimera's face. Gloved fingers crunched through the armor on the mutilated leg and ripped the rest off before using it to smash Fang into the wall. Killer Moth heard the slam and rushed out to see Fang's body against the wall in a crater, a javelin danced by his face and imbedded itself in the wall before curling. He stared at it as it pumped out what liquid was left. Fang's leg.

Chimera stepped towards Moth "I'll make you the same deal, if you tell me where Kitten is or why she's doing it I won't have to rip off your legs, but seeing as you have quite a few less I'll add your other appendages to that promise as well"

Moth leapt into the air and fluttered his wings, from here he had the advantage until a large wolf like creature hooked a claw into his leg and pulled him to earth. Claws pricked his skin in a silent promise, Moth pulled out a needle and the sharpened edge gouged out the wolf's flesh before the insanity pulled him.

He started with Moth, he would slowly drag his claws through layer after layer of flesh before starting somewhere else, only when the arm, leg or wing couldn't feel anymore pain he would take it.

The ambulance rushed up and the Titans watched as the two insect men were rushed away while Chimera held his head in his palms as two EMTs slowly tested different things. Raven and Jinx walked up slowly and caught the last of the conversation "…now if you feel the same impulse, please don't act on them. We know that the serum works on your body differently but we'd rather not have to deal with a suicide on top of everything else"

The other person slapped the speaker on the back of the head and shooed him away before pulling Chimera's hand and holding it "what he meant to say was that we need you. This city needs you to do what only you can do. Please, no matter what, please be here for us" she stood up and smiled at the two other girls before walking away leaving Chimera sitting on a barrel.

Jinx knelt down in front of him "What happened?" he shook his head and whimpered lightly, Jinx and Raven looked at each other with concern before the pink haired girl put her hand on his back "What did she mean by impulse and suicide?"

His voice quivered and he gripped his arms so tightly that blood started to run down the leather "K-Kitten is the killer…I needed to talk to Fang and Killer Moth to try to find her, he injected me w-with something" he drew a shuttering breath and tears fell from his eyes before he continued "I blacked out, w-woke up in the H-Hall…" Raven brushed past Jinx to hold on to Chimera. He took another shuttering breath and pushed on "T-then I realized everything in there was true…" tears now poured from his face as his body quivered, Raven felt his guilt overwhelming him.

She turned to Jinx "Tell the others we're going back to the tower" and she opened a portal directly to her room. She rubbed circles on his back as he sobbed into his hands "It's okay Gar, the Hall isn't right, you don't need to listen to them" his claws dug into his arms and blood pooled onto her carpet.

That night was hell for him, every time he closed his eyes his own hatred spoke to him, every breath was met by their screams.

* * *

The morning saw him drag himself out of Raven's room with eyes more blood shot than the blade of the guillotine. He pulled out a carton of soy milk and ripped the top off with his fangs and drained it before throwing it down the trash chute and staggering up to the roof to see the sun rise. As he watched Sol ascend he kept track of the wind, for that scent.

Jinx and Raven had taken to meditating in the mornings on the roof to keep their wildly erratic powers under control. The two sorceresses stared at him as he crouched like a gargoyle at the edge, ready to leap at a moments notice but as still as stone. He didn't acknowledge them as they quietly moved around the corner, yes he knew they were on the roof, each person in the tower was a star to him, sounds, scents and other senses that humans don't have made it impossible for them to hide from him. The siren rang abnormally loud in the morning air as three communicators went off at once "Titans! It's Control Freak, he's at the mall!"

* * *

The mall was empty by the time that the Titans got there, and for a rather unpleasant surprise it wasn't only Control Freak but Red-X as well. Both of which saw the Titans and got ready to fight, Robin, as his arrogant self shouted "Titans G-" he was cut of as Chimera walked between the two groups.

His hunched shoulders and ragged voice sent shudders along their spines "Look, the last two days have been shit for me, surrender and I won't beat you with your own legs." he stared at the duo "Deal?"

The sticky-X slammed into Chimera knocking him to the floor, with a sigh he pulled himself up and several tiles followed him up, with a bow and flourish he only said "as you wish" before he transformed into a thirty foot long wolf and slammed into the fat boy and knocked him into a mattress store "deal with him" Robin nodded and lead the other Titans to deal with the channel man as Red-X stared at him.

The thief squared his shoulders "Seems like you grew up, four years ago you were just a little hanger-on"

Chimera smirked and X felt a bit of fear worm it's way up his back "Care to try that now?"

* * *

The five Titans limped out of the demolished mattress store to see Gar sitting on top of an unconscious Red-X looking bored as he rested his chin on his palm "Done now?" he looked at his watch and the police van _finally_ pulled up, with a grumble of "about damn time" he hauled the two villains to their feet.

Freak shouted "YOU MAY HAVE GOTTEN ME THIS TIME, BUT I WILL RETURN!" Chimera stuffed him into the van and growled with enough threat to have Control Freak plastered to the back corner of the van.

Chimera walked to the others "They smell like Kitten…" the alarm went off again and the Titans rushed around town to keep the peace.

* * *

During the course of the day they had to capture and recapture every minor idiot with an idea for a superpower and every time they had smelt like that damn woman. That stench was driving Chimera insane, all it brought was whispers of the Hall. He clutched his head as he walked down the side street, _Mother hates us for letting her die._ "G-Get out of m-my head" his face was pale as the voices rang out.

He crawled to his door and it slid open and he took a step back in shock, the room was littered with rose petals and tea candles, the dark green comforter had been switched to a crimson silk and most surprising was what was laying on the bed.

Or rather who.

Kitten was splayed out across the sheets in lingerie that left very little to the imagination, the fact that she had killed those men _for him_ only fed Instinct, he hissed "Get out"

She slunk forward and moaned out "But whyyyy? I just want to show you what I can do for you…" her plump lips exaggerated every syllable "I'll do anything you ever dreamed of" He walked forward until she stretched her arms out and ran her finger tips across his chest. She moaned as one hand touched her bare shoulder.

* * *

A loud moan caught the rest of the team by surprise and they rushed out of their rooms to see Chimera in the hall holding a woman by the throat with one hand, her clothing made everyone blush while her feet dangled a foot off the ground, she moaned "C'mon big boy, you're going to have to do better then that…" he started to squeeze and the girl gave another moan until a staff slammed into the changeling's side and the woman broke free of his grasp and bolted out of the tower.

Raven pulled Robin back as sheer rage pulsed through his aura and his bones started to creak as they tried twisting into another form. He opened his mouth and jagged teeth pooled blood into his mouth and his voice was partially his yet Fenris' was heard in spades "**You fool! I had her **_**I HAD HER!**_"

Jinx walked over to the changeling and slowly put a hand on his shoulder "Had who?" her voice was soft and slow, like talking to a dangerous animal.

His voice was still full of rage but Fenris seemed to have subsided "That was Kitten, the one who's been murdering those people in my name!"

Robin stepped back and screamed "Then what the Hell was she doing in the Tower?!"

Chimera took a deep breath "Apparently trying to seduce me" he quickly explained what had happened and Robin stared at his feet in shame, he thought that Chimera was doing…something to her.

* * *

Raven knocked quietly on Jinx's door, it slid open and Jinx motioned her to sit across from her on the bed. The goth was shaken up by what she had seen, Jinx noticed and quietly asked "You wanna talk about it?"

Raven stuttered "I-I just can't believe what I saw…" Jinx shifted her weight and Raven watched as the other shrugged as she didn't get it "I never believed that Chimera would pass up a chance for…well" the dark girl blushed some.

Jinx nodded "In his own way he's the most incorrigible of us all, he won't change who he is…and as far as I can tell there's only room in his mind for one person"

* * *

He sniffed his room and was caught in a quandary, the room smelt much better then it ever had, yet the stench was almost overwhelming. He opened the window and let just the right amount out before closing it. He brushed the petals off his bed and sat for a moment, where would he go if he was a mass murdering psychopath…oh, wait he was. A knock at his door stopped his musings. Robin asked as the door slid open "Are you going to follow the trail?" the rest of the team stood behind the masked brat.

Chimera stared at each of them with a penetrating gaze "No."

Robin looked appalled "What do you mean 'no'?!"

Chi's deadpan stare pinned the leader to the ground "There is no trail. She leapt out a window, mind you air does not hold a trail, then she landed in the water. She had to, from the angle she jumped and from the height she would have made it out far enough that she wouldn't sustain injury and there's nothing in the sea that can track. A shark _could_ if she had been bleeding. But she wasn't." he turned around and the door slid shut leaving the five outside and in a daze. After a few moments another knock and he silently watched as the portal slid open.

The pink haired one whispered "Can I come in?" he nodded and she watched him gather all the petals before throwing them out the window "It smells nice…" he nodded again before straightening up a few things "I need to talk to you…"

He walked to the sink in his bathroom and filled a glass with water, over the sound of running water was heard "I figured that when you knocked"

Jinx nodded but stopped when she realized he couldn't see her "I just wanted to ask about Raven…"

She heard the drink slide down his throat "If you want to ask about Raven why not ask Raven?"

She growled lightly "Not what I meant and you know it! How do you feel about her?"

Chi stepped out of the bathroom and stared at her with his blank pinning gaze "why are you asking questions you already know the answer to?" the sorceress smiled, nodded and walked out the door silently.

* * *

Jinx slowly stepped out of Chimera's room and sauntered off to Cyborg's, after entering the code she was delighted to see her lover following her instructions. The gorgeous king-sized bed took up most of the room but she only smiled wider when she saw Victor napping on one side. She recognized his handiwork anywhere, the dark wood of the bed hid a recharging mat that not only kept Cyborg from crashing but also kept the bed warm. She sat beside and rubbed her nose lightly against his. He opened his eye and leaned onto one elbow "How did it go?"

The sorceress just sighed and smirked "Exactly how I thought it was going to" she curled into his chest "now shut up, I wanna get some sleep…"

* * *

Raven couldn't help but think of some of the things Jinx told her. She couldn't sleep until she got answers, she moved to her dresser before shaking her head, she wasn't going out, only to see Chi, he probably didn't care. She did however wrap a violet robe around her nightdress before going out. Her knock is answered by a grunt and groan that she suddenly found distracting, the door slid open to reveal Chimera with only a set of black shorts on, the tattoos danced wildly in the moon light "S-sorry for waking you but we need to talk…"

He noted the bags under her eyes and stepped aside warily, his eyes stayed glued on her 'he doesn't trust me' Raven realized with guilt. She sat on the desk chair and turned it to face him as he sat on the bed "I was talking to Jinx and realized that I…I don't know you" he blinked slowly and she took it as a sign to move on "I know I talked to Fenris and Emotion but…do you still love me?"

Gar slowly stood up and sighed "Why is everyone asking me questions they already know the answers to?" Raven hid her blush by lowering her gaze.

His eyes watched her with no emotion, he gazed at her with analytical eyes that measured everything she did, "What does it look like to you?" she asked.

"The same as it has been since the beginning. I follow you around, try to help. You hate and ignore me for bird boy who is stuck between to women. He doesn't do anything and the girls swoon over him more and more. Leaving me out to dry. How it has been, how it always will. Now if that's all get out. I need to sleep"

She glided over to him and put her palm on his shoulder. He jerked away and laid down on his side facing away from her and she tried once again. When he allowed the appendage on his body she quietly spoke "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for not being there for you, I'm sorry for not seeing you, I'm sorry that you were-"

He shoved her hand off him and turned to face her snarling so harshly that she was frozen "Don't you **dare** say you're sorry! You aren't. You don't care that I sat and wallowed in insanity and hatred for two months. You don't care that I froze in a barn and crawled out of collapsed bridges. You don't care that my blood painted so much of the snow crimson that you couldn't tell that it was white to begin with. Now get out" she rushed out and fled to her room where she sat on her bed with her arms wrapped around herself. Tears started to flood her face as she realized he was right. She didn't care. She wasn't sorry. And for some reason that broke her.

* * *

Robin and Raven entered the common room at the same time, just in time to see Chi put his dishes in the dishwasher and put on his jacket. He glared at both of the "I'm going hunting. If you get in my way or try to stop me I will make you understand what I can do" and he walked out with clack of his boots on the tile being the loudest thing in the room.

Robin, still pale and trembling, slowly sat down "W-what the hell was that!?"

Raven was in the same state and she sat across from him "L-last night we got into an argument…I don't think he wants to see us anywhere other then dead….you for stopping him and me for my…everything" she laid her head on the table and sigh, things were going to get rough.

The day was silent until the alarm blared around 5 in the afternoon, they raced to see Warp shooting beams at Chimera who dodged skillfully until Raven screamed and he made the mistake of looking back. Warp's ray slammed into his chest with a sickly off-white color and he laughed harshly "FOOLISH TITANS! This ray takes you back to your most painful experiences!"

A small green child, soaked with rain, clothes torn barely held up his ripped garments appeared before them with clouded eyes that saw something beyond them choked out "D-daddy? M-mommy? W-Why am I-I alone?" he trembled as the cold of his memories frosted his body from the fine spray of water and the white fluid running down the back of his legs from his attackers and he collapsed sobbing into his tiny hands.

A slightly older boy appeared screaming out a wordless cry as he felt pains from something only he could see. Nine different transformations happened before the final two, each of them made even the creator of the beam clear his stomach on the sidewalk.

The last two were the worst for the Titans. This time it wasn't Chimera, it was Beast Boy holding his bleeding arms as he whimpered out one name "Terra" his forearms were shredded and he bled out onto the street until the final change.

As his form blurred they saw Gar, broken and battered. His clothes shredded as he shivered against snow that only affected him, his voice trembled as he fought off phantoms "G-GET AWAY!" he curled into a ball and whimpered "S-somebody, he-help me" his small voice begged "p-please, I-I promise not to prank anyone, I-I promise not to annoy anyone one. Just save me…please"

Jinx took a step forward and Gar pressed himself into a wall and screamed "NO! G-GET AWAY FROM ME!" his sobbing voice echoed "I-I didn't do anything!"

An invisible tendril of energy touched Gar's head and Raven gasped in shock, Robin turned to her "How bad is it?"

The normally calm and granite faced Raven couldn't help the tears that ran down her face "H-he's totally broken, insane in the worst way. Things haunt him that I never even thought existed" her shuddering breaths scared everyone.

Gar watched something stalk towards him and opened his mouth to scream the endless voice of Death. His eyes shut against his will and he fell to the floor comatose, four creatures huddled around him. One they had all seen before, one all but the pink haired had seen and the other two were complete strangers to all but one. Fenris snarled at the Titans and Warp who backed away quickly while Instinct howled and Emotion helped Restraint to his feet. Restraint looked around and nodded towards Warp "He is not to be touched. They however are to be destroyed" and he pointed to a corner just as a large insectile human turned and slammed into a building crushing it under foot and turning to them. They smelled like that woman. Instinct looked at Emotion and back to Restraint who nodded and the Emotion put a hand on Instinct's shoulder.

Three different Chimeras flowed off of the two like water before solidifying, one covered in a melancholy gray stood with a noose around his neck, a blood red one stood with a knife in hand and the last one held a psychotic smile and a gavel and was colored a malevolent purple.

Emotion palled heavily as the three turned to face him and he greeted with fear in his voice "Homicide, Genocide…Suicide, I didn't think to see you here"

The red one, now named Homicide ran a finger over the blade of the knife "And miss the fun, not on your life Sparky!" and his knife started to cut a bloody swath one corpse at a time.

Suicide was much larger then the other two and he bowed his head before taking off the noose from around his neck, what he said made every other being of Chimera gasp in shock, his quiet voice simply and sorrowfully sighed "They deserve death more than me" and his noose ended lives beside the knife.

Genocide snarled and slammed the gavel down and hissed in terrible delight "GUITLY!" and dozens fell over dead. Between the three the monsters died quickly and they turned to Restraint before disappearing back into the ether of Chimera's mind.

Robin stepped forward with his bo at the ready "Who are you?"

Restraint growled and the others, even the old god, fell behind him "YOU! I want nothing to do with you!" he screamed before Raven walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, he managed to calm himself some "I am Restraint, keeper of the mind"

Starfire hesitantly said "But for restraint you are not very…restrained…"

The leader of the mind nodded "Very astute, I cannot restrain myself against traitors."

The princess started again "Then what does your name mean?"

He gestured to those behind them "I restrain all of them, I hold them in check so Garfield can keep sane"

Robin spoke up "So you're not all that strong."

Emotion snarled "No you poor excuse for a decrepit chicken, it mean he's stronger than all of us _combined;_ he can hold all of us back"

Restraint ignored the masked idiot and turned to Raven "He will be weak, confused, terrified and he won't see what is, he will see the hell of what could be and the darkness of his own memories. Take care of him" and the others factions of Chimera's mind touched Restraint and they disappeared in a flash. A few words floated on the breeze, "Be thankful for the incident a few days ago, otherwise he would have broken…"

Chimera sat up and gasped as he closed his eyes, Raven raced over and held him close "It's okay, you'll be alright" she cooed as he gasped and tried to see past his sight.

He ripped himself away from them and stared before running, he got only ten feet before a black arm wrapped around his ankle and dragged him back as he screamed, claws cutting into the road like knives through paper. Raven put a black sphere of power around the two of them and held his head to her chest as she tried to calm him, through his sobbing gasps he managed to say "W-what I s-see is H-hell" and he pressed his face into her more. The barrier came down and Cyborg stepped forward, Chimera reacted by pressing himself further into the woman who knew she didn't love him and sob out "D-don't come near me! I-I'm not…" he sobbed again and Raven held him tighter. A portal opened in the ground and for the second time Chimera fell onto her bed sobbing and filled with emotions so intense that it physically hurt.

Raven slowly stroked his head as he fell asleep, exaction from his hunt, splitting, fighting, reforming compounding until he couldn't even hold his eyes open. Raven knew she shouldn't do it but she dove into his dreams and found what it was like to be truly insane.

* * *

Time lost all meaning, hours, seconds, millennium, for a mind this broken time meant nothing. His mind was a void, nothing in it, a barren waste so desolate that not even sound could reach. The first thing she saw was Chimera collapsed on the ground, she crouched beside him and heard the taunts, the jeers, the degrading words that her own voice was saying. She turned. Robin and herself on a bed, every caress came with a moan from her lips and another jeer "Look what _he _can do to me, _you _will never get this chance, **you **pine after the only person in existence who know what you really are. A monster, Trigon himself could never be as vile as you are, he never killed his parents, he never was this pathetic, you tried to play the big boy but look what happened, you just became even more of a monster!" Raven was petrified, the words coming out of her mouth made her sick, she emptied her stomach across the void floor and still the words kept coming, she covered her ears yet they rang all the louder.

Suddenly a roar broke out, Chimera leapt onto the bed and slaughtered the two, blood pooled on the bed and over his body, lines lazily traced his body as he stared at his claws in horror, "N-no…" his lost whisper echoed "I-I didn't mean to…" she tried to move but found herself unable to. Some time later the vision faded and she was surrounded by darkness for a time.

The next scene had her blushing like a school girl who walked in on her parents. Raven laid next to Gar, both in sleepwear and she was curled into his chest. She was asleep and he just watched her with tranquil eyes and a warm smile as he wrapped his arms around her, she woke just a bit, rubbing her eyes she leaned into him even more "What is it Gar?"

He kissed her slowly and she responded by opening her mouth, he pulled back and she whined quietly, he kissed her forehead "Don't worry, I was just thinking how lucky I am"

Raven laughed lightly "You know how clichéd that is?"

He nuzzled her neck "I don't care because it's true"

She leaned her head to the side so he could plant little kisses across the soft skin there "You fought tooth and nail to see me smile, I just saw no reason not to return the favor" she grabbed his hand and held it to her cheek "I love you" the true Raven's jaw dropped and she stared stunned for a moment. This was his dream, what he desired above all other things. The deeply intimate scene faded and dozens flashed before her, none making any sense until one she didn't want to see appeared.

Kitten was moaning as Garfield ran his hands across her body, he kissed every inch of skin she showed him. As he kissed her lips she panted out "How did I get this lucky?"

Gar told her "Because none of the others realized how empty I am"

She rolled over so she topped him "You mean how love starved, so starved you turned to a woman who you hate, a woman who will leave as soon as she can bear her god's child."

He nodded miserably "The only people who didn't see me as means to an end were my parents, the Doom Patrol treated me like a tool to be used, as did the Titans. Now here I am"

Raven managed to pull herself out of his nightmarish head and looked at the sleeping man with horror on her face. He held things that she never thought to know about him. From her mouth came "Is he really so starved for love that he'd go to Kitten?" his body didn't answer as the parts of his soul tried to pull themselves together. She took off her cloak and laid down beside the near comatose body and slept.

* * *

When Raven woke it was beyond early morning, the sun had yet to brighten the sky, yet the light of the moon was enough to see him, his even breathing. She knew it right before it happened, his eyes snapped open and his cat-like pupils saw through her and he sat up and tried to stand, he felt rather then saw her hands gripping his own, her whisper was quite "Gar, we need to talk" she tugged him down and stopped his attempt to rise by hugging him "I'm tired of running in circles. What do I need to say to understand what I need? How did you do it?"

"…" his silence regained over the room for a long moment "Try dying a few dozen times" and he walked out leaving her stunned.

* * *

Thousands of questions laid unanswered in his mind and he was going to hunt each down. One by one. And it would beg for mercy before he killed it. He stalked down the alleys and found nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. After a day of hunting he fell onto the couch and sighed, his irritation was burning through his body until a certain metal man and pink haired sorceress sat down beside him, the metal man spoke "No luck?"

He shook his head and stood up to get a drink, he turned on the tv and tried to drown out his anger in the mindlessness of it all. Only a few minutes later the others waltzed in and Chimera sat at the table with his plate of tofu and various other vegan things and the others seemed to try to return his favor from those years ago and draw him into the conversation. Then Robin had to ask "So did you find anything new on Kitten?"

Chimera looked up from his plate "…no" and his eyes fell back on his food where they had been for the entire meal.

Silence was banished when Starfire asked Cyborg how his latest project was going…his grumbling and groaning made all the others laugh. But not Chimera, who stood and left, silent and unnoticed. Nor was he noticed after that.

He studied everything he could pull up on the woman until his eyes couldn't stay open any longer. As he slipped into sleep a black portal opened and Raven stepped and held her hands by the sleeping man's temples, she leaned in to see his memories-just a skim-when a voice caught her off guard "You shouldn't do that" so she did the only thing she could. Leapt head first into his memories.

* * *

She found herself standing in a pure white space with Chimera watching her, he only warned "I would say close your eyes and cover your ears, but that won't help if you live my life. Good night"

She hissed in shock "You're going back to sleep?"

He nodded "I just got to sleep…see you in the morning"

She saw all the things he had lived through, the death of his parents and the rape of his mother and his own. The trauma that he had suffered as the child worked with the Doom Patrol, things that no child should ever have to live through and the series of deaths and events that molded him. She even saw his time between Jump and Gotham. Insanity, it seems, is a kind of balm.

* * *

Raven woke up in Gar's bed with shock written on her features. Her own fears at her father had been eclipsed by her friend's…ally's…acquaintance? She didn't know what he was. Or for that matter who he was, until she lived his life and heard his thoughts that is.

She walked out of his room and into the Commons and saw everyone but whom she was looking for "Cyborg, have you seen Chimera?"

The man twitched the control stick in his hands "Naw, he went out this morning looking for any leads…why?"

She clenched her fist and for the first time in years her power shattered something in it's overflow. A plate turned to shrapnel and everybody flinched and watched her curiously "I have a bone to pick with that lying bastard" she stormed out leaving the other four to shrug and slowly go back to their day.

Raven floated above the city and sent out her power to survey the city looking for the green man. She raced across the city and found him sitting in a tree fifty feet off the ground just a small ways past the city. She lowered herself until she was staring him straight in the eyes "You lied"

He lounged a bit more as one foot swung in the empty air as he leaned back into the trunk "About what?"

She settled next to him "Every time someone asked if you were okay you lied…how can you live with the pain?"

Every time he changed his body was broken down to cells, forces ripped him apart and stitched him back together and now the scars always felt that way, they were always the first thing to rip apart when he moved. His pain was horrible, not even the demon inside her could stand it. He shrugged "after a while you get used to it"

She remembered the vision at the first time he changed and shook her head to clear it "What are you doing here?" she knew he grew up without any comforts and leaned into his chest. Both of them were shocked at what she was doing, she was also surprised by how comfortable he was.

He wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling and inhaled her scent "To think. I lost track of Kitten and she keeps on disappearing…I can't figure it out"

A long time ago Raven thought she understood Beast Boy. She was wrong, now she understood the boy and wondered what this man would be. She nuzzled deeper into his chest and sighed, there was something about this that made her feel…safe, unafraid. Whole. She sighed and they talked. About nothing, just chatting until the sun's dying glow cast about the trees and rain started to patter softly against the leaves.

As they walked into the Common room Chimera hissed "Pause it"

Cyborg turned to the changeling after doing so and stared "What is it?"

Chimera looked at the TV with a mix of shock and annoyance before he cupped his eyes and muttered "Why am I not surprised?" he pointed at one of the figures waving at the cameraman. Kitten. His fingers tried to work out the knots behind his eyes as he asked "Where are they?"

Jinx stared at Raven who was wrapped around Gar's arm "They're at North Park, the story's about a new cult….worshiping the Chimera"

Gar sighed before shaking his head "I'll do it tomorrow. This will end." the hardness in his eyes brokered no remark. The common room door slid shut and he made his way through the halls.

As he walked to his bed Raven grabbed his arm "Why didn't you tell us?"

He continued walking "There's too much that needs to be kept hidden"

She tugged him back "Not that. Why didn't you tell us that you haven't been hugged since-" she stopped when he flinched. Since his parents died.

He turned back "When you grow up without physical contact other than a fist to the gut you learn to do without" she let go and he walked into his room leaving her out in the hall alone.

She whispered to the empty hall "But it keeps you from being human…"

* * *

Chimera walked down the sidewalk of North Park and watched the crowd of people part for him, a man with a loincloth of some animal skin and white face paint, a woman wearing a strip of brown cloth as a shirt and a skirt made of leaves. They all parted until a man with an African tribal mask and a torn set of brown pants walked out "Who are you and what are you doing in our God's land?! The one we worship is-"

He was cut off by a large green tiger roaring in his face. He shifted back and scowled "Listen, get out of my way and I won't have to butcher you like cattle. I'm here for Kitten."

The shaman type character leapt in joy "Our God descends to lay his progeny in our prophet!"

Chimera picked up the man by the throat "No. She used my name to kill people. I killed those that were the scum of the earth. But to kill innocent people in my name will never be forgiven. I came to kill her."

The entire park was silent until a woman yelled "So gracious and just! Our God kills humans that have sinned!" and a roar of approval rocked the ground as he sighed and followed a woman to Kitten.

* * *

From a portal back in the tower the Titans watched with bated breath as this long journey would come to an end one way or another.

Raven's fingers were held over the pool of water as Chimera walked through the forested park to kill her. The one who used his name, in the quiet of the room she murmured "Let this end, let him get on with his life"

Jinx put a hand on the girl's shoulder "It will. And then we can see what happens next" the hex mage smiled calmly as the cyborg nodded.

Star and Robin nodded as well, but the latter with more trepidation then any of the others.

* * *

As he walked in front of the building, a small penthouse built into the forest, Kitten stepped out in the same clothes she had tried to seduce him in. She leaned against the door and purred "You did come back for little ol' me" she batted her eyelashes.

He glared harshly at her and took one menacing step forward "Yes, I did." his body started to rip and tear in to the familiar form of Fenris. Kitten stared in shock before she smirked and leapt forward with a needle of the same liquid that her father used on him.

Just before the needle met the changing skin her hand iced over and injector became a useless block of ice. The swamp that followed the beast radiated outward shifting the ground underfoot to muck before frosting it over with ice of blood. At he topped his full size he started to shrink until he was staring his victim in the eyes, she ran and the cult watched in rapt horror as the beast lunged and caught her by the neck with teeth sharp enough to kill a god.

The Titans felt bile rise in their throats as he shook his head violently, her body hit a tree with a sickening thump and she cried out in pain. His teeth sank deeper and her eyes glazed over as he drained her blood.

Raven licked her lips, his memories- the taste of the kill and the warmth of blood on her tongue. For a moment her mind overlapped with his and the sharp metallic tang of blood wafted over her and she felt the slickness between her thighs. She stared at the picture in horror. Not at the sight of the woman dying in front of her but of her own body. The smell, the taste, the lust. She cringed in horror as he lifted his muzzle and howled out across the tree filled land.

The people slowly came out of hiding as he changed back. "Leave, go back to your homes. I'm not a God. I'm a monster." they slunk away with something like confused understanding in their eyes.

* * *

Raven waited in his room. She need to tell him about the sudden spike in bloodlust. She curled her lips in a snarl as she realized that the person who she needed to tell would probably be the one that cared the least.

As the door closed Chim-no, Garfield slowly sat down on the floor and rested his back against the wall. His eyes met Raven's and he stood "What?" it wasn't snapped but by the same token it wasn't kind "I've been up since four and just executed a prophet. Right now I'd just like to go to bed. Can this wait until tomorrow?"

Raven shook her head and nervously wiped her hands on her pants leg "No, I-it can't wait. We watched what you did" he muttered out 'figures' under his breath but she continued "and as you…killed her my mind overlapped with your….and I felt bloodlust…"

She sat there ashamed of herself as tears crawled down her face. Gar sighed and patted the floor beside him, she rushed over and sat between his extended legs and curled into his chest. He didn't know how to respond. She let her tears soak into his shirt and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders "Shhh, shh, shh, it's alright. It's what you can expect from being in my mind…the bloodlust, the sweetness, the taste. It's all in my mind. Nothing's wrong with you. If anything I'm the monster"

She dried her eyes and steeled her resolve "Then I'll be a monster with you" she pressed her lips to his and his own taste mixed with the intoxicating taste of the blood still in his mouth.

She bit his lip hard enough that the crimson pulsed out and he growled "A monster always needs a victim"

She lapped at the blood "Forever" and like the demonic proposal it was she kissed him again.

Monster and Monster.

Monster and Demon.

Monster and Victim.

_Finis_


End file.
